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.

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.

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.

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,

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

FILE PHOTO: Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping take part in an official welcoming ceremony for delegations' heads at the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, 23 October 2024. MAXIM SHIPENKOV/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a video meeting to deepen their nations' ties amidst Western sanctions on Moscow. Xi emphasised enhancing 'good-neighborly friendship' and strategic cooperation.

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

President Donald Trump is threatening to impose stiff taxes, tariffs and sanctions on Russia if an agreement isn’t reached to end the war in Ukraine.

US president offers Putin chance to negotiate peace as Volodymyr Zelensky demands American troops join Western peacekeeping force