US urged China not to supply arms to Russia at ‘intense’ Rome meeting

China had denounced reports that Moscow asked for military equipment as malicious disinformation'

• Russia-Ukraine war: latest updates

The United States has held intense" high-level talks with China in an effort to try to dissuade Beijing from supplying arms to Russia, at a meeting in Rome which the White House sees as critically important not just for the war in Ukraine but also for the future of the global balance of power.

Jake Sullivan, the US national security adviser, met his Chinese counterpart, Yang Jiechi, for all-day talks in the Italian capital on Monday amid reports that Russia has asked China for weapons to bolster its faltering invasion of Ukraine.