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.

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.

The video call between Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping hints at a deepening bond that both countries continue to hope will reshape global politics.