Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a video call hours after President Donald Trump re-entered the White House and pledged to "deepen" their partnership.

Chinese President Xi Jinping reaffirmed ties with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, as the two face a more geopolitically assertive US government led by Donald Trump, who criticised the Kremlin's war against Ukraine on the first day of his second term as president.

His inauguration speech was loudest in its silence on Ukraine. But hours later, US President Donald Trump laid bare – in a trademark casual, rambling fashion – his position over the war in Ukraine. And it was tougher on the Kremlin than you might expect.

From decorations to executive orders, the 47th president has taken an aggressive posture in attempting to remake government.

The presidents sought to capture some of the media spotlight that was focused on the flurry of executive orders signed by Trump. Amid all the noise in Washington following the return of the Republican bulldozer to the White House,

Chinese President Xi Jinping held a meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin via a video link on Tuesday, state broadcaster CCTV reported. The talks came hours after US President Donald Trump returned to the White House and said he would meet Putin “very soon”.

As president-elect, Donald Trump said on more than one occasion that he could end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours of taking office. More than a day into his presidency, the war rages on. But “ending wars” does still appear to be a top priority for the new administration.

President Donald Trump is threatening to impose stiff taxes, tariffs and sanctions on Russia if an agreement isn’t reached to end the war in Ukraine.

World leaders congratulated President Donald Trump on his inauguration Monday, with many urging stronger alliances or continued cooperation between their countries and the United States, in carefully crafted social media posts and statements.

It would appear Russian President Vladimir Putin sees Donald Trump‘s reinstatement to the White House as a new era of reduced hostility between the two nations, as he congratulated the new president and emphasized the need to prevent a Third World War.

Chinese President Xi Jinping held a meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin via a video link on Tuesday, state broadcaster CCTV reported. The talks came hours after US President Donald Trump returned to the White House and said he would meet Putin "very soon".