HONG KONG — They've already declared it has "no limits," and on Thursday Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping vowed to deepen a partnership increasingly characterized by their countries' clash with the West.

The two autocratic leaders met in Beijing in a show of unity between the two U.S. rivals as Putin wages a new offensive in his war on Ukraine.

Putin's two-day state visit to China is his first overseas trip since he began a fifth term in office with a shake-up of his military leadership. It comes as Russia has seized the initiative in the war, now in its third year, and as the United States intensifies pressure on China to do more to stop it.