Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping have exchanged New Year’s greetings, with both praising steady relations between the two countries.
Moscow and Beijing have deepened cooperation since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022. The two countries describe their ties as a strategic partnership “without limits.” Both countries nearly doubled bilateral trade from 2020 to 2024, surpassing $240 billion last year.
Putin wished Xi and the Chinese people well, saying the China-Russia strategic partnership had continued to develop throughout 2025.
Xi sent reciprocal greetings to Putin and the Russian people on Tuesday, saying bilateral relations had made further progress and noting that the two leaders had met twice during the year in Beijing and Moscow. He added that the two countries supported each other in multilateral forums, including the UN.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin also exchanged New Year’s messages, Chinese state media said.
Earlier in December Putin signed a decree allowing visa-free entry to Russia for Chinese citizens, granting them stays of up to 30 days. The move mirrored Beijing’s earlier decision to extend the same access to Russian citizens. In September, China introduced the measure on a one-year trial basis to further facilitate travel between the two countries.
During his annual end-of-year Q&A session last week, Putin described relations with Beijing as stable and trusting, adding that the two countries’ foreign ministries remain in regular contact and coordinate approaches on key global issues.