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.

By Dmitry Antonov and Guy Faulconbridge MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russian President Vladimir Putin held a video call with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday in which he proposed further developing their strategic partnership just hours after Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States.

Chinese President Xi Jinping declared readiness to lead China-Russian relations to "a new height" together with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin's press service reported on Jan. 21 after a video call between the two leaders.