Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin have a tea chat at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, May 20, 2026. (Xinhua/Ding Haitao)

BEIJING, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin had a tea chat on Wednesday night at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

Xi said that over the years, he and Putin have maintained frequent and close exchanges, and jointly created a new model of major-country relations featuring mutual respect, fairness and justice, and win-win cooperation, injecting the much-needed stability into a changing and turbulent world.

Noting that the two sides have reached new important consensus on promoting China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination, Xi expressed the confidence that with unremitting efforts from both sides, China-Russia relations will surely build on the momentum of high-quality development and scale new heights.

Hailing the visit as pragmatic, efficient and fruitful, Putin said he and Xi have reviewed the development of Russia-China relations, held in-depth exchanges of views on a wide range of issues, and charted the course for future cooperation, which will help ensure robust momentum for the bilateral relationship.

Russia looks forward to maintaining close communication with China, strengthening strategic coordination, and making new contributions to world peace and prosperity through the certainty and stability of Russia-China relations, Putin said. ■