Xi says ties with Russia 'most stable'

President Xi Jinping said on Tuesday that China's ties with Russia are the "most stable, mature and strategically significant" among major world powers, state media reported.

During a meeting with Vyacheslav Volodin, chairman of Russia's Duma, or lower house of parliament, Xi hailed the countries' relationship as being a "stable source of world peace", Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said.

"The two sides should... work together to safeguard the security and development interests of both countries, unite the Global South, uphold true multilateralism, and promote the international order towards greater fairness and justice," Xi told Volodin in Beijing's opulent Great Hall of the People.

Former socialist allies with a history of tempestuous ties, relations between Beijing and Moscow have deepened since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

China has never denounced the war nor called for Moscow to withdraw its troops, and many of Ukraine's allies believe that Beijing has provided support to its vast northern neighbour.