Putin, who was meeting with China’s Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum, said he and Chinese President Xi Jinping have “friendly personal and business relations”.
“This certainly helps to the cause of developing bilateral relations and interstate ties,” Putin added.
Putin also praised the “very high” level of economic and political cooperation between Moscow and Beijing.
“Of course, this is all a derivative of what has been achieved in the political sphere,” he said, adding the results are “more than good, they are excellent.”
Xi, a self-described friend of Putin, has continued to bolster China’s economic, diplomatic, and security ties with Russia despite the invasion of Ukraine — which Beijing has never condemned.
China did not send a delegation to international talks on Ukraine in Denmark in June, despite attempting to position itself as a potential peace broker on the conflict in recent months.
And Beijing’s refused to condemn the invasion has further soured its relations with Western nations, especially in Europe.