Russia, China ready to help each other on sovereignty concerns — Putin

TOKYO - Russia and China are ready to support each other on a wide range of issues, including national unity and protection of sovereignty, President Vladimir Putin said in a video address ahead of a visit to China starting on Tuesday.

Relations between Russia and China have reached an 'unprecedented level' of mutual understanding and trust, Putin said as he prepared to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping for talks on Wednesday.

The countries are ready to cooperate on mutually beneficial and equality-based principles and "to support each other on issues affecting the core interests of the two countries, including the protection of sovereignty and national unity", Putin said. He did not provide any further details.

Russia and China are actively expanding ties in economy, politics and defence, he said, adding that "a close" and "strategic" connection between Moscow and Beijing was playing "a stabilizing role" in global relations.

"We are not aligning against anyone, but working for the cause of peace and universal prosperity," Putin said.

-Reporting by Jekaterīna Golubkova in Tokyo; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Himani Sarkar/Reuters