The Russia’s Embassy in China posted an article stating that Russian President Putin had a telephone conference with Xi Jinping on February 25, the second day after Russia invaded Ukraine.
“The Russian President informed the Chinese President in detail about the reasons for the decision to recognize the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics (two separatists-controlled regions in Ukraine), to conduct special military operations aimed at protecting civilians from genocide, and to ensure the demilitarization and de-Nazification of the Ukrainian state.”
“Xi stressed (that China would) respect the actions taken by the Russian leadership in the current crisis situation.”
“… Both (Presidents) stated that the use of illegal sanctions to achieve self-interested goals of certain individual countries must not be allowed. In the light of this, the two leaders stressed the importance of strengthening bilateral practical cooperation, taking into account the results of their talks in Beijing on February 4.”
“Overall, the call was friendly and constructive, demonstrating that both sides share the same principled positions on key international issues.”
Source: Russian Embassy in China Website, February 25, 2022
https://beijing.mid.ru/zh/news/_00121/