Medvedev, who is now serving as deputy head of the Russian security council, is visiting China this week for talks with leaders of the key strategic partner.

"China is willing to work with Russia to strengthen the alignment of development strategies," Xi told Medvedev, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

The readout added China hoped to tap into the "driving force of cooperation between the two countries, and continuously benefit the two countries and their peoples".

Since Russian President Vladimir Putin's February 2022 launch of a full-scale invasion of neighbouring Ukraine, China has sought to present itself as a neutral party, unlike the United States and other Western nations.

But it remains a close political and economic partner of Russia, leading some NATO members to brand Beijing an "enabler" of the war, which Beijing has never condemned.

Medvedev -- visiting China for the first time since December 2022 -- has a limited role in the Russian political system and is now mostly known for his anti-West diatribes on social media.

According to CCTV, Xi told Medvedev in Beijing's Great Hall of the People that China and Russia "should strengthen communication and cooperation within multilateral frameworks such as the United Nations, the BRICS cooperation mechanism, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization".