BEIJING, Jan 21, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday 
held a video call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, Beijing's 
state media reported.

Xi and Putin "held a video meeting at Beijing's Great Hall of the People on 
the afternoon of January 21", state broadcaster CCTV said.

The broadcaster did not immediately give details of what was discussed during 
the call.

China has sought to depict itself as a neutral party since Russia launched 
its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

But it remains a close political and economic partner of Moscow and has never 
condemned the war, leading some NATO members to brand Beijing an "enabler" of 
the conflict.

Both sides have made much of Xi and Putin's supposedly strong personal bond, 
with Xi calling the Russian leader his "best friend" and Putin lauding his 
"reliable partner".

In a New Year's message to Putin last month, Xi vowed to promote "world peace 
and development", according to a contemporary CCTV report.

"In the face of rapidly evolving changes not seen in a century and the 
turbulent international situation, China and Russia have consistently moved 
forward hand-in-hand along the correct path of non-alignment, non-
confrontation and not targeting any third party," the broadcaster reported Xi 
as saying.