'We're your true friends': Xi tells Putin as Donald Trump courts Russia

Hong Kong & Berlin: China's leader said his country and Russia were "true friends who have been through thick and thin together" after a video call with President Vladimir Putin on Monday, part of a pointed mutual affirmation of allegiance between Beijing and Moscow as President Donald Trump has turned toward the Kremlin.

The warm words attributed to Xi Jinping in Chinese state media were clearly intended to dampen speculation that the Trump administration, which has pursued a rapid rapprochement with Russia, might succeed in driving a wedge between Beijing and Moscow.

The call came on the anniversary of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, after three years in which China extended a lifeline to Russia by helping Putin weather economic isolation from the West and struggles on the battlefield.

Shortly before the invasion of Ukraine, Xi and Putin heralded a "no limits" partnership. Since then, China has sustained Russia's war machine with oil purchases and exports of dual-use technologies.

Xi and Putin also share an ideological opposition to the West. They blame the United States for holding back their global ambitions, and promote a reshaping of the global order to weaken Washington's dominance.

"History and reality show us that China and Russia are good neighbors who won't move away, and true friends who have been through thick and thin together, support each other and develop together," Xi was quoted as saying by Chinese state media.

Xi said relations between China and Russia were not "affected by any third party," in what appeared to be an oblique reference to the United States. And he said the two countries' foreign policies were there for the "long term."

The Kremlin issued a similarly cordial statement after the call, describing Xi and Putin's conversation as "warm and friendly." In a rebuff of the idea that Trump could divide the two countries, the Kremlin added: "The leaders emphasized that the Russian-Chinese foreign policy link is the most important stabilizing factor in world affairs," and said the relationship was "not subject to external influence."

The call was the second between Xi and Putin in just over a month.