We're getting the first lines now reported by Chinese state media of what the leaders said in their first meeting.

China's state broadcaster CCTV is reporting Xi congratulating Putin's continued term in office:

"Dear President Putin, my old friend, welcome to China for a state visit. Not long ago, you were sworn in as the President of Russia for the fifth term. I extend my sincere congratulations to you and the Russian people once again.

"I believe under your leadership, Russia will surely achieve new and greater accomplishments in national development and construction."

Putin was sworn into his fifth term as leader earlier in March, in an election where he ran virtually unopposed.

Frances Mao
Reporting from Singapore

Image source, Reuters

Putin and Xi have now kicked off what state media has described as "small group" talks.

We believe that security and foreign issues are on the agenda in the morning meetings. Of course, the war in Ukraine will likely be top of mind.

Analysts say Putin will want to reaffirm China’s support for Russia, especially its economic relationship and the flow of Chinese manufacturing equipment and technology which is critical to Russia's war effort.

Meanwhile Xi could seek a briefing from Putin on what Russia's strategy is in Ukraine and perhaps also assurances that Putin will not make good on the nuclear threats he's made before, says Philipp Ivanov from think tank the Asia Society. China has made it clear that any nuclear move by Russia over Ukraine is a red line for them.

Image source, CCTV

Putin's highly-anticipated visit had got Chinese online users talking earlier today. On Douyin, the country's domestic version of TikTok, Putin's arrival in Beijing was the most trending topic on Thursday, with more than 70 million users watching video clips of his arrival.

The comments appear to be overwhelmingly welcoming. “Welcome, the Great Emperor,” a top comment under state media Guangming Net's video reads. This refers to one of Putin's nicknames on Chinese internet, Great Emperor Pu, or Pu Dadi.

There is also a lot of excitement for the Harbin leg of his trip. Online posts from locals suggest that the city has been thoroughly cleaned and a memorial to Soviet soldiers who died during the liberation of the north-east of China in the 1940s has been repainted. Putin is expected to lay wreath there tomorrow.

But the comments also appear to be heavily censored. On Weibo, a post from state broadcaster CCTV shows more than 1,600 comments were made, but when viewing the account, less than 20 such comments can be seen.

Putin was greeted by Xi in a grand welcome ceremony at the square outside the east gate of the Great Hall of the People. A military band played Russia's national anthem, followed by the Chinese anthem.

Xi then led Putin on a walk around the square, past various military contingents, their route lined with a red carpet. A contingent of civilians waved pompoms and cheered as they walked past.

The welcome ceremony has now ended, and the duo have kicked off a group meeting in the Great Hall.

Image source, CCTV

Putin has arrived at the square outside the east gate of the Great Hall of the People where a Russian flag has been hoisted. The welcome ceremony has just begun, with the band playing the national anthems of both countries.

Image source, CCTV

It appears we may just be moments away from the welcome ceremony between both leaders.

Image source, CCTV

Image source, CCTV

This shot from earlier shows the Russian president's car passing Tiananmen Square during sunrise.

The Russian president touched down in Beijing about 04:00 local time.

Image source, Getty Images

China's state broadcaster CCTV is reporting that their leader will first welcome the Russian president in a ceremony at a state building that is commonly used for meetings with top leaders or foreign dignitaries.

The leaders are meeting at the Great Hall of the People which flanks one side of Tiananmen Square.

Footage shows ranks of soldiers goose-stepping in front of the building and army bands playing.

Image source, CCTV

Image source, CCTV

Police presence in China’s capital has been heightened amid Putin’s visit. Officers were seen standing guard along Chang’an Avenue - a major thoroughfare in the heart of the city. The road connects significant landmarks including Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City.

Russian and Chinese flags can also be seen adorning the lamp posts that line the road.

Image source, Getty Images

Putin arrives in China just over a week after Xi Jinping visited France, Serbia, and Hungary - a trip that exposed fault lines in European unity, according to some analysts.

“Xi’s goal is to drive a wedge between the United States and Europe and to show that there are limits to trans-Atlantic unity on China,” wrote Tara Varma, a visiting fellow at The Brookings Institution.

In France, Xi came under pressure from European leaders to use his influence on Putin to end the war in Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also repeated calls for more balanced trade with Beijing.

But Xi offered few concessions. He denied that China has an overcapacity problem. On Ukraine, he stressed that China was “not at the origin of this crisis, nor a party to it, nor a participant”. There was no signal that he would ask Moscow to stop the war.

Xi received red-carpeted welcomes in Serbia and Hungary, where he pledged to deepen political and economic ties. Researchers from the Italian Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI) described them as “a careful display of brotherhood towards China by two of the most pro-China European countries”.

However, despite the charm offensive, Xi seemed “more determined to exploit the EU’s differing views on how to deal with China than to find common ground,” the ISPI researchers wrote.

Image source, Getty Images

Putin arrived in Beijing just hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday announced that he would cancel all trips abroad as his troops defend Russia’s advances in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region.

Zelensky had earlier planned to visit Spain and Portugal at the end of the week.

Meanwhile US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a surprise trip to Ukraine earlier this week where he sought to reassure Ukrainians.

Washington has the power to seize Russian assets in the US and will use them to help rebuild Ukraine, said Blinken.

Image source, Reuters

Russia and China have "similar or coinciding positions on key issues on the international agenda", Putin said in an interview with Chinese state news agency Xinhua. , external

Both countries advocate "the primacy of international law, equal, indivisible, comprehensive and sustainable security" at global and regional levels, he said.

"We also reject Western attempts to impose an order based on lies and hypocrisy, on some mythical rules of no one knows whose making," he added.

The lengthy written interview was published on Wednesday - a day before the Russian leader was due to arrive in Beijing.

In it, Putin had described Moscow-Beijing relations as an "unprecedented level of strategic partnership".

The Russian leader has a packed schedule during his two days in China.

His meeting with Xi on Thursday will celebrate the 75th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries.

According to the Kremlin, they will discuss their “overarching partnership and strategic cooperation” and the “most pressing international and regional issues”, and are expected to sign a dozen joint documents, including a joint declaration.

State Space Corporation Roscosmos director general Yury Borisov and Dmitry Shugaev, director of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation, will also be part of some of these meetings.

Putin is also expected to meet with Xi’s number two, Premier Li Qiang, later today.

On Friday, Putin will attend two China-Russia business conferences in Harbin, a city that is known both for its rich cultural and historic ties with Russia and an ice festival that is a major tourist draw.

In Harbin, he will also visit a memorial to Soviet soldiers who died during the liberation of the city in 1946.

Image source, Getty Images

Laura Bicker
China correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

More than two years into Russia's invasion of Ukraine, China has emerged as a vital ally. It has refused to condemn the war and continues to trade with a heavily sanctioned Moscow, much to the ire of the US and the European Union.

While Putin brags about his friendship with Xi Jinping, the Chinese leader might have reason to worry.

Washington and Brussels believe Beijing is exporting tech and components essential for war. The Sino-sceptics and China hawks are also getting louder, urging Xi to exert more pressure on his Russian counterpart, as the EU mulls tariffs of its own.

And the fact is China's sluggish economy can ill afford this pressure from trading partners. Weak demand at home means it needs those markets abroad.

With the West growing more impatient with their alliance and Xi's hopes of playing peace keeper so far unsuccessful, he will be calculating the risk of continuing to stand "shoulder to shoulder" with someone who he once called both a comrade and his "dear friend".

Here's more from my analysis on Xi's balancing act.

UK, and EU, along with countries including Australia, Canada and Japan, have imposed more than 16,500 sanctions on Russia.

Their main target: Crippling the Russian war machine.

Sanctions are penalties imposed by one country on another, to stop them acting aggressively or breaking international law - and are among the toughest measures nations can take, short of going to war.

Click here to get the full picture on what impact these sanctions have had on Russia’s economy.

Laura Gozzi
Live reporter

Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to China is his first trip abroad since his inauguration to a fifth term in office - almost a reciprocal move following Chinese leader Xi Jinping's state visit to Russia in March 2023 after he secured a historic third term.

Russian commentators are excited about the trip, which will likely see Putin be welcomed with full honours. Some pundits have already predicted that Putin's visit will be "front-page news for all the world's media".

"This is what everyone in the world will be watching closely. Both enemies and friends," one said.

In an interview with China's state broadcaster Xinhua earlier this week, Putin said he had decided to make China his first stop after his inauguration because of the "the unprecedented high level of strategic partnership between the countries".

Putin is highly dependent on China – which has become Russia’s number one trading partner since Western sanctions left the country isolated following its invasion of Ukraine. And he will want to show the world that he has President Xi’s backing.

The Russian leader is also hoping to highlight that he and Xi Jinping remain on the same page with regards to Ukraine and has already lavished praise on Xi for "understanding" the "root causes" of the conflict. Putin is aware he cannot afford to have China show any signs of impatience with regards to Russia's invasion, and he has even backed China's (rather vague) plan for a settlement of the war.

Russia and China's partnership may be growing to “unprecedented levels”. But it remains lopsided.

Russia’s war in Ukraine has been raging for more than two years. Sanctions have stunted economic growth in Russia’s economy, frozen billions of dollars in foreign reserves and forced brands like McDonald’s and Starbucks to close shop.

With an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) over the Ukraine war, Putin himself is a wanted man - in theory.

The West hoped his warrant would make him an international pariah and keep him in his own country - unable to travel for fear of arrest - but that hasn’t happened.

Since then, he has been to Kyrgyzstan, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and China, with Xi himself hosting Putin at an infrastructure summit in Beijing, just a few months after the ICC’s warrant.

China’s leader has refused to condemn Russia’s war and Beijing has bristled at criticism of its support for Russia, despite high-profile diplomatic moves, the most recent of which from French President Emmanuel Macron.

Vladimir Putin's presidential plane touched down at an airport in Beijing just a few hours ago - here's the first footage we've seen of his arrival.

Ayeshea Perera
Live Editor

Russian President Vladimir Putin has touched down in Beijing, kicking off a two-day visit to China.

At the top of his agenda is a face-to-face meeting with his counterpart Xi Jinping - an encounter that will be closely watched by the West.

Looming over this meeting is Russia’s war in Ukraine, which has dragged on for more than two years. The US and its Western allies have imposed unprecedented sanctions on Russia in a bid to cripple Putin’s war machine.

China has remained one of the few lifelines to support Russia's economy. However, Beijing has come under increasing pressure as it has been accused of supporting Russia’s military with technology and equipment that Moscow is using to produce weapons.

Beijing has repeatedly maintained that it is not providing Russia with weapons or military help - though it has refrained from condemning Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

What comes out of this meeting - their fourth face-to-face encounter in a little over a year - could indicate how far they are willing to take their partnership.

Stay with us as we bring you updates and expert analysis from our teams in China, Russia and Singapore.