Chinese leader Xi Jinping hailed Russia and China’s “stable and resilient” ties as he began talks with counterpart Vladimir Putin on Thursday in Moscow, a show of solidarity in the face of global uncertainties unleashed by US President Donald Trump’s “America First” diplomacy.

Chinese President Xi Jinping told Russia's Vladimir Putin on Thursday their two countries should be "friends of steel", as they pledged to boost cooperation to a new level at a time of heightened confrontation with the West.

The Trump administration has said it wants to pull apart Russia and China, but the two countries need each other too much.

Russia will restrict internet access across regions including Moscow during its May 9 celebrations, as the Kremlin adopts ever-tighter controls.

Russia celebrates the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory in the second world war on May 9. But while the cameras will focus on the assembled ranks of elderly war survivors watching the military parade in Red Square, Moscow, the focus of senior officials is on Russia’s children and young people.

Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Russian President Vladimir Putin Thursday in Moscow as a contingent of world leaders come to Russia as it celebrates the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.