Chinese leader Xi Jinping vowed to take his country’s ties with Russia to a new level this year in a video conference with counterpart Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, hours after the inauguration of US President Donald Trump.

Chinese President Xi Jinping reaffirmed ties with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, as the two face a more geopolitically assertive US government led by Donald Trump, who criticised the Kremlin's war against Ukraine on the first day of his second term as president.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has had a call with Chinese President Xi Jinping, emphasizing the two countries’ close ties, a day after Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th U.S. president.

Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping pledged to take China-Russian relations to a “higher level”, hours after Donald Trump took office. The pair spoke over the phone on Monday and discussed future relations with the United States, the war in Ukraine and Taiwan.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a telephone conversation on 21 January, during which they stressed the need to deepen cooperation between the two countries in the political,

Chinese President Xi Jinping held a meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin via a video link on Tuesday, state broadcaster CCTV reported. The talks came hours after US President Donald Trump returned to the White House and said he would meet Putin “very soon”.

Russian President Vladimir Putin held a video call with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday in which he proposed further developing their strategic partnership just hours after Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th US president.

Putin and Xi praised strong bilateral ties, highlighting shared interests and global stability, as Trump began his term as the 47th US president.

He also said, however, that the call was "not connected with Trump's inauguration in any way". The call lasted about one-and-a-half hours, during which Putin and Xi also discussed

Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping share a broad world view, which portrays the West as decadent and in decline as China challenges U.S. supremacy in many areas.

Chinese President Xi Jinping hailed ties with Russia during a video call with Vladimir Putin as he urged deeper cooperation a day after Donald Trump’s inauguration as U.S. president.