‘We are expecting you, dear friend,’ Vladimir Putin tells Xi Jinping during their conversation.

On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin extended a state visit invitation to Chinese President Xi Jinping as the two leaders discussed bilateral relations, military cooperation, and international challenges.

Vladimir Putin welcomed Xi Jinping in an eight-minute speech that was aired on state television, saying, ‘We are expecting you, dear Mr. Chairman, dear friend, next spring on a state visit to Moscow.’

Vladimir Putin said that he wants to increase military cooperation with China and said, ‘This would demonstrate to the whole world the strength of Russian-Chinese ties on crucial subjects.’

Despite their ‘substantive and fruitful’ encounter, an official told Reuters that Xi’s trip to Moscow has not yet been scheduled.

In response to what he called a ‘difficult’ global scenario, Xi Jinping told Putin in his remarks that China was prepared to expand strategic cooperation with Russia.

While highlighting the need for peace, China has so far refrained from denouncing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Russia’s position on the China-Taiwan issue stands in sharp contrast to this.

The path to peace talks on Ukraine will not be easy, according to Xi Jinping, who also pledged that China would maintain its ‘objective and fair attitude’ on the matter. Chinese media reported that, Xi urged Beijing and Moscow to work closely together and coordinate in international matters and emphasised Russia’s willingness to join in talks about Ukraine.

Russia has openly backed Xi Jinping’s stance on Taiwan and accused the West of attempting to instigate a confrontation over the status of the autonomous island, which China claims as its own.

In response to the unprecedented pressure and provocations coming from the West, Putin said to Xi on Friday, ‘You and I share the same views on the causes, course, and logic of the continuing transformation of the global geopolitical scene.’

The US has also expressed alarm over China’s ties to Russia. A spokeswoman said, ‘Beijing purports to remain impartial, but its behaviour makes obvious it is still investing in tight connections to Russia.’ The US was ‘closely monitoring Beijing’s conduct,’ the official added.