“No matter how the international situation changes, China will remain steadfast in further comprehensively deepening reform … and promoting world peace and development,” Xi said, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

Since Putin’s full-scale invasion of neighbouring Ukraine in February 2022, China has sought to present itself as a neutral party, unlike the US and other western nations.

But it remains a close political and economic partner of Russia, leading some Nato members to brand Beijing an “enabler” of the war, which Beijing has never condemned.

According to CCTV, Xi told Putin: “In the face of rapidly evolving changes not seen in a century and the turbulent international situation, China and Russia have consistently moved forward hand-in-hand along the correct path of non-alignment, non-confrontation and not targeting any third party.”

The two presidents share a strong personal bond, with Xi calling his Russian counterpart his “best friend” and Putin cherishing his “reliable partner”.

Their relationship has been a constant despite a decade of growing friction with western countries, exemplified by Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Xi noted to Putin that 2024 marked the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Russia, according to CCTV, “representing a new important milestone in the relationship between the two countries”.

“After three-quarters of a century of ups and downs, China-Russia relations have become increasingly mature and stable,” Xi said, according to CCTV.