“China stands ready to always be a trusted neighbour, friend, and partner to Russia … jointly [achieving] national development and rejuvenation, and together upholding fairness and justice,” Xi said in his opening remarks of their talks.

Hailing the Sino-Russia relationship’s withstanding of “storms and changes in international dynamic”, Xi said a stable development of bilateral ties was also conducive to peace, stability and prosperity in the region and the world.

“The Sino-Russian relationship has stood the test of changing international dynamics and set a model for major and neighbouring countries in mutual respect, sincerity, harmonious coexistence, and mutually beneficial cooperation.”

Putin is on his first foreign trip since being sworn in as president for a fifth term earlier this month. The recent cabinet reshuffle has also filled its ranks with officials well-versed in working with China.

This is Putin’s second visit to China since the two nations forged their “no-limits” partnership in 2022, shortly before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The relationship was reinforced with another trip in October and is expected to deepen further in the latest in-person exchanges.

In a recent interview with Chinese state news agency Xinhua, Putin lauded the strategic partnership between Russia and China, emphasising that it is built on national interests and profound mutual trust.

“It was the unprecedentedly high level of the strategic partnership between our countries that determined my choice of China as the first state that I would visit after officially taking office as president of the Russian Federation,” he said.

“We will try to establish closer cooperation in the field of industry and high technology, space and peaceful nuclear energy, artificial intelligence, renewable energy sources and other innovative sectors.”

Putin’s visit follows hard on the heels of Xi’s recent European tour where he met French President Emmanuel Macron and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen in Paris and pledged that Beijing would not sell arms to Russia.

In his meetings with Macron and von der Leyen, Xi also said China would do more to control the flow of dual-use goods, amid growing Western pressure over Beijing’s alleged support for Russia and its defence industry against sanctions.

China-Russia trade hit a record US$240 billion in 2023, more than double the US$108 billion reached in 2020, largely driven by Chinese imports of Russian oil and exports of cars, electronics and industrial equipment.

Putin, who has met Xi more than 40 times since 2012, will attend a bilateral trade expo as well as the 4th Russia-China Forum on Interregional Cooperation in Harbin, capital of China’s northernmost Heilongjiang province, which has strong cultural ties with Russia.

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