Vladimir Putin welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday (May 8) for talks in the Kremlin that Moscow hopes will provide a diplomatic boost for the Russian leader at a key moment in the war with Ukraine.

Putin and Xi approached each other along a red carpet from opposite ends of one of the Kremlin's most opulent halls and shook hands in front of the cameras, then stood to attention for the playing of the Chinese and Russian national anthems.

Xi is the most powerful of more than two dozen foreign leaders who are visiting Moscow this week to mark Thursday's 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two. The celebrations are taking place at a key moment in the war with Ukraine, as Moscow and Kyiv come under U.S. pressure to reach a peace deal.

Xi, whose country is locked in a tariff war with the United States, is expected to sign numerous agreements to deepen the "no limits" strategic partnership that the two countries signed in 2022, less than three weeks before Putin sent his army into Ukraine.

China is Russia's biggest trading partner and has thrown Moscow an economic lifeline that has helped it navigate Western sanctions. China buys more Russian oil and gas than any other country.