It was only natural that the egomaniac-in-chief in the White House would see no need to get his allies on board with the campaign, not even diplomatically.
Trump ... is certainly finding out in this region that a 'special operation' can quickly turn into a quagmire, and that the Middle East is not Venezuela.
Beijing wants to avoid being drawn into a confrontation with Washington while still demonstrating that it has an independent voice on major international crises.