China and the United States announced Sunday that senior Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan would meet Monday in Rome to discuss the crisis in Ukraine. In separate statements released simultaneously Sunday morning, Washington and Beijing said that Chinese Communist Party Politburo member and Foreign Affairs Commission director Yang would meet Sullivan in Italy on Monday to exchange views on “regional” issues and to keep the lines of communication open. The sides will “discuss the impact of Russia’s war against Ukraine on regional and global security”, the US National Security Council said in its slightly more detailed statement, attributed to spokeswoman Emily Horne, while Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian cited “international and regional issues of common concern” without mentioning Ukraine by name. (https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ukraine-war-biden-adviser-jake-093000270.html) This came as Russia said on Sunday it was counting on China to help it withstand the pain of Western sanctions, even as the White House warned Beijing it would face severe “consequences” if it helped Russia evade them.