The US and China held seven hours of diplomatic talks on Tuesday, with much of the conversation taken up by the war in Ukraine.
The US says the meeting was "intense" and the discussion around sanctions on Russia was "candid."
American intelligence leaked yesterday suggested Russia had asked China for both military and economic assistance - such as drones to use in the invasion, and even help with evading sanctions imposed by the US and Europe.
China has hit back at the allegations, claiming the reports were "fake."
Whether true or not, it's unlikely China would offer large scale assistance to Ukraine - its foreign policy is centred around state sovereignty.
The meeting was scheduled some months ago, but news of Russia's request saw the US change tack.
White House spokeswoman, Jen Pskai, said today it was an opportunity to speak directly to China about the consequences of helping Russia avoid sanctions.
"It was a timely and important moment to have this conversation, especially given the reports we've seen," she said.
The US has been talking tough on consequences for Russia - although none of the sanctions so far have stopped President Vladimir Putin from unleashing a bloody attack on his neighbour.
"We will not allow any country to compensate Russia for its losses," said US State Department spokesman Ned Price.
China has abstained from UN votes condemning Russia's actions, and refused to words such as "war" and "invasion" to describe what is happening in Ukraine.
It's also broadly published Kremlin propaganda on its domestic social media networks.
But analysts believe China will try to stay the course - calling for diplomatic talks, and peacekeeping - hoping to show it can be a stabilising world power.
Diplomatic discussions have been on-going, but without the assistance of China.
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