Chinese leader Xi Jinping welcomed Vladimir Putin to China on Thursday for the Russian president's second visit in less than a year. "Today, Russia-China relations have reached the highest level ever, and despite the difficult global situation continue to get stronger," Putin said in an interview with China’s state news agency Xinhua published on Wednesday, ahead of his arrival. The visit comes as Russia claims to have captured further villages in Ukraine's northern Kharkiv region. China has come under rising pressure from the US and Europe to make sure its exports are not supporting the Russian war machine. CNN's Kristie Lu Stout reports.