Chinese President Xi Jinping has arrived in Russia for talks with President Vladimir Putin.

Xi arrived in Moscow on Wednesday morning for a visit affirming the increasingly close relationship between the two former Cold War communist rivals.

He will hold talks with Putin at the Kremlin later in the day and visit the opening of a Chinese car factory. Xi will also be one of the key speakers at Russia's major investment conference in St. Petersburg on Friday.

China and Russia in recent years have aligned their foreign policy positions at the United Nations and in regard to major international crises such as Syria and Iran's nuclear program.