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.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a video call hours after President Donald Trump re-entered the White House and pledged to "deepen" their partnership.

The presidents sought to capture some of the media spotlight that was focused on the flurry of executive orders signed by Trump. Amid all the noise in Washington following the return of the Republican bulldozer to the White House,

Chinese leader Xi Jinping vowed to take his country’s ties with Russia to a new level this year in a video conference with counterpart Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, hours after the inauguration of US President Donald Trump.

A variety of figures, ranging from former presidents to other world leaders, are expected to attend President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration on Monday.

In video call, Chinese leader says relations – underpinned by ‘everlasting’ good neighbourliness – are gaining renewed vitality, according to CCTV.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is dispatching a high-ranking official to the U.S. President-elect Donald Trump 's inauguration, in lieu of Ambassador Xie Feng, in a move that breaks tradition. Newsweek has reached out to the Trump team and Chinese Foreign Ministry by email with requests for comment.

Donald Trump said he held a “very good” phone call with China’s President Xi Jinping, as the US-President elect prepares to return to the White House next week.

Chinese people on the streets of Beijing said Monday they were keeping expectations low ahead of the inauguration of Donald Trump, as his second White House stint could push China-US ties into a new era of uncertainty.

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.

US president Donald Trump has threatened to hit China with 10 per cent tariffs on all imports as soon as 1 February, despite a “very good” call with Chinese president Xi Jinping.