During a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Beijing, President Xi also called on both countries to step up efforts against US President Donald Trump's aggressive unilateral actions

Xi, who stepped up criticism against Trump for his war on Iran in the last few days, asserting that the world should be prevented from falling back into the law of the jungle, sought more closer cooperation between allies Moscow and Beijing to restore multilateralism and the international rule of law

"It is necessary to strengthen multilateral cooperation, firmly support and promote multilateralism, jointly work to restore the authority and vitality of the UN and closely coordinate and cooperate within the frameworks of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and BRICS to advance the development of the international order in a more just and reasonable direction," Xi told Lavrov

In the follow-up to Lavrov's visit to Beijing in the midst of Trump's war against Iran, as well as his virtual takeover of power in Venezuela - an ally of both China and Russia - Moscow and Beijing were expected to step up coordination in the UN, where they are permanent members of the Security Council

The two countries were also expected to push BRICS to take a more proactive stand on the restoration of multilateralism and the developmental interests of emerging economies in this year's summit, which is due to be held in India later this year