The comment came during a four-hour meeting with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas in Brussels on Wednesday, the official said. The conversation was"firm but respectful" and covered a wide range of issues, from cybersecurity, rare earths and trade to Taiwan and the Middle East.

The official said Vance's private comments suggested Beijing may prefer a protracted war in Ukraine that prevents the United States from focusing on competing with China. Such remarks reflect critics' concerns that the Ukraine conflict is more geopolitically significant to China than it has officially acknowledged.

On Friday, at a regular press briefing by the Chinese Foreign Ministry, spokesperson Mao Ning, commenting on the information, which was first reported by the South China Morning Post, reaffirmed Beijing's official position on the war, which has been going on for three years.