China and Russia “cannot be moved away” from one another, Chinese leader Xi Jinping told his counterpart Vladimir Putin on Monday, in their first phone call since US President Donald Trump upended American foreign policy with a sweeping pivot toward Moscow as he pushes for peace in Ukraine.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has held a call with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and said he was pleased with Moscow’s efforts to hold a summit with the U.S. toward ending the war in Ukraine

The Chinese and Russian leaders reaffirmed their relationship in a video call on Monday, an apparent rebuff to the idea that the Trump administration could drive a wedge between them.