Chinese President Xi calls Russia ties priority on Moscow trip

Xi Jinping said on Tuesday that China would prioritise ties with Russia, calling the two "great neighbouring powers" as he prepared for a second day of talks with Vladimir Putin expected to focus on Ukraine.

The Chinese president also said he invited the internationally isolated Putin to visit China later this year as both leaders seek an alliance to counteract Western power.

Beijing and Moscow's trade ties have boomed since Russia's Ukraine campaign, linking the nations more closely and raising worries in Western capital over how far the ties will go.

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Xi said China's government would "continue to prioritise the all-round strategic partnership between China and Russia".

"We are great neighbouring powers," he was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying during a meeting with Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.

Xi's trip coincides with a surprise visit by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to Kyiv on Tuesday where he is expected to meet Putin's nemesis Volodymyr Zelensky.

Xi's visit to Moscow has been viewed as a major boost for Putin, who is under Western sanctions and subject to an International Criminal Court warrant over accusations of unlawfully deporting Ukrainian children.

Agence France-Presse