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.

He also said, however, that the call was "not connected with Trump's inauguration in any way". The call lasted about one-and-a-half hours, during which Putin and Xi also discussed

Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping share a broad world view, which portrays the West as decadent and in decline as China challenges U.S. supremacy in many areas.