Xi Jinping said Monday as he stepped off his plane on the runway of a Moscow airport that he was confident his visit to Russia would give “new impetus” to relations with Moscow, France Presse reported.

The President of China was met not by his colleague Vladimir Putin, but by the Vice Prime Minister of Russia for Tourism, Sports, Culture and Communications, Dmytro Chernyshenko.

“I am sure that this visit will be fruitful and will give a new impetus to the healthy and stable development of Sino-Russian relations,” Russian news agencies quoted the Chinese leader as saying, while Xi Jinping called China and Russia “good neighbors” and “reliable partners.”

According to him, Beijing is “ready to firmly stand by Russia” for “true multilateralism” and “multipolarity in the world.”

During his first visit to Russia in 2019, Xi Jinping was met by Deputy Prime Minister Dmytro Chernyshenko at the airfield of Moscow’s Vnukovo airport on Monday, and then listened to the national anthems of Russia and China performed by a military band and in front of an honor guard. .

During a three-day official visit, Mr Xi will hold an informal meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Monday before formal talks on Tuesday. The two leaders will discuss the plan proposed by Beijing last month to settle the conflict in Ukraine, which the West views with skepticism.

A message sent by Kyiv to the Chinese leader

Kyiv hopes that Chinese President Xi Jinping will use his “influence” on Vladimir Putin during his visit to Moscow to “put an end” to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a Ukrainian diplomatic official said on Monday.

“Ukraine is closely following the visit of the President of the People’s Republic of China to Russia. We expect that Beijing will use its influence on Moscow to stop the war of aggression against Ukraine,” said spokesman Oleg Nikolenko shortly after Xi Jinping’s arrival in Moscow.