Xi Jinping and Russia's PM took a victory lap over the US's failure to economically isolate Russia since its invasion of Ukraine

• China's Xi Jinping and Russia's PM Mikhail Mishustin met in Beijing on Wednesday.
• They boasted that Russia-China trade was at an "all-time high."

China's President Xi Jinping met with Russia's Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin in Beijing on Wednesday in a gentle reminder to the West of its failure to economically isolate Russia.

At the meeting, which was part of a two-day visit by the Russian PM, Xi pledged to further strengthen the nations' ties as trade between them surged past $200 billion in 11 months.

The two sides should "give full play to the advantages of political mutual trust" and "deepen cooperation on economy, trade, energy and connectivity," Xi said during the meeting, the Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported.

Mishustin said Tuesday that relations between Moscow and Beijing had reached an "all-time high" during a discussion with his Chinese Premier Li Qiang, French news agency Agence France-Presse reported.

It's the latest in a series of meetings between top Chinese officials and their Kremlin counterparts, with Russia's President Vladimir Putin lavishing praise on Xi at the Beijing Belt and Road Forum in October.

In the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the West has tried to economically isolate Russia, with governments imposing sweeping economic sanctions and corporations leaving the country.

But China, the world's second-biggest economy, has played a vital role in keeping the Russian economy afloat, buying up Russian oil and gas and selling Russia consumer goods such as cars and tech components.

Russia has also enjoyed rising oil and gas revenues due to nations like China showing no qualms in continuing to trade with it and high global oil prices.

The profits are enabling Russia to massively boost its military spending as it seeks to wear down Ukraine's defenses.

China and Russia share a key global aim — to reduce US power and influence. Though China says it's a neutral party in the Ukraine war, analysts say it sees the conflict as a way of damaging US might and that it likely favors a Russian victory.

To that end, it's provided Russia not just with economic but with diplomatic backing, refusing to condemn Russia's invasion.

It's not all good news for Russia economically though, with sanctions causing soaring inflation and a shortage of workers leading to a labor market crisis.

Analysts previously told Business Insider that there appeared to be cracks in Putin and Xi's relationship, with Russia wary of China's new dominance over its economy and Beijing anxious about aggravating Western European nations opposed to Russian aggression whose economies it depends on.

But for now, its relationship with China is helping Russia weather the economic storm.