Reuters :
While the public statements may have lacked enthusiasm, President Xi did hint at the importance that China places on the relationship.
He invited Mr Putin to his official residence, Zhongnanhai. Few leaders are afforded that honour – US President Barack Obama being among them back in 2014, when ties between the two were at their best.
President Xi is attempting a fine balance – he wants to maintain an alliance with Mr Putin, while also knowing that close ties with a pariah puts at risk his stable ties with the West which he needs to help his ailing economy.
The fact is, this visit was all about the money: Mr Putin needs China’s support for his war in Ukraine.
The make-up of the Russian leader’s entourage was a sign of what he hoped to get out of the trip: he brought with him the governor of Russia’s Central Bank, his finance minister and his economics advisor.
The joint statement released to mark the visit also contained some eye-catching ideas to increase trade – building a port on an island which the two countries once wrangled over for more than 100 years, and speaking to North Korea to see if Chinese ships could navigate through a key river to reach the Sea of Japan.
It mentioned the word “co-operation” 130 times.
All of this will, of course, have been carefully watched by the US. Last month, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned China to stop fuelling Russia’s war and trading in components that could be used in Russian drones and tanks.
So they will not have missed the fact Mr Putin toured a state-backed university famous for its cutting-edge defense research during Friday’s visit to the city of Harbin.