The visit represented a rare meeting between officials from Kyiv and Beijing, which has been accused of aiding Moscow to prolong its war against Ukraine.

Ukraine's First Deputy Foreign Minister Sergiy Kyslytsya met with China's Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Liu Bin for "political consultations," Kyiv said.

"There was an in-depth exchange of views on the current situation related to Russia's ongoing armed aggression against Ukraine," Ukraine's foreign ministry said in a statement.

It added that "international efforts to achieve a stable and lasting peace" had also been discussed.

In its read-out after the meeting, China, a close ally of Russia, said the two officials "exchanged views on the Ukraine crisis".

Kyslytsya said earlier he was also meeting with US ambassador to China David Perdue.

China -- a major Russian trading partner -- has said it takes a neutral stance on the war, and has never condemned Moscow's invasion.

Beijing regularly calls for peace talks and respect for the territorial integrity of all countries.

But Western governments accuse Beijing of providing Russia with crucial economic support for its war effort, notably by supplying military components for its defence industry.