Just four days after hosting Donald Trump in Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping is hosting another global heavyweight, Russian President Vladimir Putin. What urgency drove the Xi-Putin meeting so soon after Trump's visit? What message is China trying to send to the world?

Russia-China ties: Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Beijing on Tuesday. This comes just days after US President Donald Trump concluded his visit to China. Meanwhile, earlier on Tuesday, Putin stated that the ties between Russia and China have reached a truly unprecedented level.