Xi and Putin meet to reaffirm China-Russia ties days after Trump's visit

Key points

• Xi and Putin meet to reaffirm China-Russia ties days after Trump's visit toggle caption Maxim Shemetov/Pool Reuters BEIJING — Chinese leader Xi Jinping welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing on Wednesday in a meeting meant to reaffirm ties and that takes place only days after a visit by U.S.
• President Donald Trump to China.
• Xi welcomed Putin with a ceremony at the Great Hall of the People.
• The two delegations later held bilateral talks, to be followed by a ceremony for signing cooperation agreements.
• Putin's visit comes just days after Trump's own trip to Beijing – in a sequence that is meant to cement Beijing's image as an influential superpower, experts say.