Reuters MOSCOW

Chinese President Xi Jinping told Russia's Vladimir Putin on Thursday their two countries should be "friends of steel", as they pledged to boost cooperation to a new level at a time of heightened confrontation with the West. At talks in the Kremlin, the two leaders cast themselves as defenders of a new world order no longer dominated by the United States.

Xi is the most powerful of more than two dozen foreign leaders who are visiting Moscow this week to mark Thursday's 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two – a celebration of huge significance for Putin.

Xi's participation is an important boost to Putin at a time of acute geopolitical tensions from the Middle East to South Asia, and as Russia comes under pressure from the United States in faltering talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. China and Russia should safeguard international fairness and justice and "be true friends of steel that have been through a hundred trials by fire", Xi told Putin in televised comments.

The two countries should solidify the foundations of their cooperation and "eliminate external interference", said Xi, whose country is currently engaged in a tariff war launched by U.S. President Donald Trump. Putin and Xi have met dozens of times and signed a "no limits" strategic partnership in February 2022, less than three weeks before Putin sent his army into Ukraine. China is Russia's biggest trading partner and has thrown Moscow an economic lifeline that has helped it navigate Western sanctions.