Xi Jinping tells Putin that China supports new contacts between the US and Russia.

Reuters China is pleased to see Russia and the United States maintaining contact and strengthening ties to advance a political resolution to the crisis in Ukraine, President Xi Jinping said in a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday.

Beijing will maintain its position on the need for peace negotiations and a diplomatic solution to the conflict, Xi told Putin, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.

The call was made at Putin's request, CCTV reported.

The call came after the Kremlin announced on Thursday that Putin will meet with US President Donald Trump in the coming days in an effort to end the war, which is now in its fourth year.

Trump adopted a more conciliatory approach toward Russia after returning to the White House in January, but expressed growing frustration with Putin over the lack of progress toward peace and threatened to impose heavy tariffs on countries, including China, that buy Russian oil.

Trump said on Wednesday that he could announce new tariffs on China, similar to the 25% tariffs he already imposed on India because of its purchases of Russian oil.

A spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, responding to Trump's statements, said on Friday that China's trade and energy cooperation with Russia is "fair and legitimate."

"We will continue to take reasonable measures to ensure energy security based on our own national interests," spokesman Guo Jiakun said in a statement released by the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Friday's phone call between Xi and Putin was the second in less than two months.

The two countries have further strengthened their economic, trade, and security cooperation since Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which triggered a sharp deterioration in Moscow's relations with the West.

Putin is scheduled to visit China in September for events marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.