A Western intelligence report indicated that Chinese officials asked in early February that senior Russian officials wait until the end of the Beijing Olympics before beginning the attack on Ukraine, according to US officials.
US officials widely view the report as credible, but its details are interpretable, according to a source familiar with the intelligence.
According to the source, although the request was made at a time when Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Beijing for the opening ceremony of the Olympics - where he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping - it is not clear from the report whether Putin addressed the matter with Xi directly.
Western intelligence officials were warily watching Putin's build-up on the Ukrainian border at the time, and speculated that the Russian leader might postpone any military action until after the Olympics to avoid angering China.
After Putin and Xi met on the sidelines of the Games, Moscow and Beijing issued a joint statement declaring their partnership "without borders", and condemning NATO expansion, a mainstay for Putin's war on Ukraine.
This statement raised Western concerns about the alliance between China and Russia.
For his part, spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington Liu Bingyu said, "The allegations mentioned in the relevant reports are baseless speculation and are aimed at shifting blame and discrediting China."