Russian President Vladimir Putin smiled and waved enthusiastically to his Chinese counterpart during virtual talks on Tuesday.

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.

Following Trump's inauguration, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin held a virtual meeting to strengthen bilateral relations between China and Russia.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a video call hours after President Donald Trump re-entered the White House and pledged to "deepen" their partnership.

The two leaders have developed strong personal ties that helped boost relations between Moscow and Beijing, growing even closer after Putin sent troops into Ukraine in 2022.

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”.

China's President Xi Jinping spoke with Russia's Vladimir Putin over video call on Tuesday, Chinese national broadcaster CCTV said.

In the 1.5-hour video call, the leaders discussed the need to “cope with the uncertainty of the external environment”.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping held their annual New Year’s video call on Tuesday. The two leaders discussed key issues, including the Ukraine conflict, Western sanctions,

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