Beijing has pledged to elevate the relationship with Moscow to new heights this year, hours after Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th US President.The Chinese President Xi Jinping, during a video conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday,

Russian President Vladimir Putin has had a call with Chinese President Xi Jinping, emphasizing the two countries’ close ties, a day after Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th U.S. president.

In the 1.5-hour video call, the leaders discussed the need to “cope with the uncertainty of the external environment”.

The Russian and Chinese leaders spoke to each other via video call on Tuesday, just a day after Donald Trump's inauguration.

MOSCOW/BEIJING (Reuters) -Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed on Tuesday how to build ties with Donald Trump, prospects for a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine and Moscow's firm support for Beijing's position on Taiwan.

Following Trump's inauguration, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin held a virtual meeting to strengthen bilateral relations between China and Russia.

President Trump said Tuesday it was likely he would impose additional sanctions on Russia if it did not come to the negotiating table to broker a ceasefire in Ukraine. “Sounds likely,”

We build our ties on the basis of friendship, mutual trust and support, equality and mutual benefit. These connections are self-sufficient, independent of domestic political factors and the current global situation,

Chinese President Xi Jinping reaffirmed ties with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, as the two face a more geopolitically assertive US government led by Donald Trump, who criticised the Kremlin's war against Ukraine on the first day of his second term as president.

President Donald Trump is threatening to impose stiff taxes, tariffs and sanctions on Russia if an agreement isn’t reached to end the war in Ukraine.

Political scientist Mark Leonard has found that people around the world are far more optimistic about Trump's presidency than Europeans. In an interview, he explains why their answers provide some potentially valuable advice for Europe.