• China and Russia are each other’s largest neighbors and most important strategic partners.
• China’s suggestions have been rejected by the US and its allies as favoring Russia.
• The Ukraine crisis was the subject of “an in-depth exchange of ideas” between Putin and Xi.

On the second day of his state visit to Moscow on Tuesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping hailed close ties with Russia and invited Vladimir Putin to pay a follow-up visit later this year.

China and Russia are each other’s largest neighbors and most important strategic partners, thus it makes sense historically for Chinese officials to choose Russia as their first stop while traveling abroad, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

According to both sides, the leaders spent the majority of their more than four hours of discussion on Monday discussing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Putin had stated before the meeting that he is prepared to discuss China’s idea for resolving the war. Tuesday afternoon, Putin welcomed Xi to the Kremlin for additional meetings. The two men were seen on Russian state television traversing the Kremlin’s wide red carpet to shake hands before joining respective delegations.

China’s suggestions have been rejected by the US and its allies as favoring Russia, and Ukraine has also shown little interest. During his travel to Russia, Xi is anticipated to speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for the first time since the invasion in February 2022.

In the midst of efforts by the US and its allies to isolate the Russian president over his invasion, Xi’s three-day visit—his first trip outside of China since declaring his candidature for a third term earlier this month—sends a strong message of support for Putin. There were few signs that this visit would result in new agreements, despite the fact that Russia has grown more dependent on China for trade as other markets have been closed.

The Ukraine crisis was the subject of “an in-depth exchange of ideas” between Putin and Xi, according to a statement from China’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday. The ministry said that “most countries support lowering tensions,” but it made no further mention of the issue.

According to the statement, Xi also stated that China and Russia would continue to improve their strategic collaboration.

Tuesday morning, Xi met with Mikhail Mishustin, the prime minister of Russia, who urged for strengthening economic ties and who also received an invitation to travel to China.

Later on Tuesday, the two leaders are anticipated to sign a number of documents, and Xi and Putin will speak to the media before a state banquet in the Palace of Facets, built during the Tsarist era.

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