Putin, Xi extend friendship treaty, hail ties

The leaders of Russia and China on Monday hailed increasingly close ties between their countries and announced the extension of a 20-year-old friendship treaty, a show of unity amid their tensions with the West.

Speaking in a video call with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the treaty signed in July 2001 in Moscow helped take relations between Moscow and Beijing to an "unprecedented height" and would be extended for another five years.

The Russian leader noted that the coordination of foreign policy efforts by Russia and China has played a "stabilising role in global affairs."Xi in his opening remarks emphasised the importance of a "strategic cooperation" between Moscow and Beijing in defending their common interests on the global stage. During Monday's call, Putin congratulated Xi on the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party of China celebrated Thursday.