Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Friday that Chinese President Xi Jinping will make a state visit to Russia in spring 2023.
The visit is intended to demonstrate the close relationship between Russia and China and comes at a time when Russia's military campaign in Ukraine has faced widespread criticism.
During a video conference between the two leaders, Putin emphasized the importance of Russia-China relations as a stabilizing factor and expressed a desire to deepen military cooperation between the two countries.
In response, Xi said that China is ready to increase strategic cooperation with Russia in the face of a "difficult" global situation. The relationship between Russia and China has grown significantly since Russia sent its armed forces into Ukraine in February.
China has refrained from condemning Russia's military campaign, instead stressing the need for peace, and Russian energy exports to China have increased since the outbreak of the conflict. However, China has been careful not to provide direct material support that could provoke Western sanctions.