- Summary- Putin's remarks highlight pivot from West to China- Both men share distrust of West- Xi's reserved remarks contrast Putin's upbeat tone- No sign from Xi of support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine- U.S. 'concerned' by China's alignment with RussiaDec 30 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday he was expecting Chinese President Xi Jinping to make a state visit early next year in what would be a public show of solidarity from Beijing as Russia's invasion of Ukraine falters.But an official Chinese readout of a video summit between the two leaders highlighted differences in approach to their developing alliance, making no mention of a visit and stressing that Beijing, which has declined to back or condemn the invasion, would maintain its "objective and fair" stance.The United States said after the call that it was "concerned" by China's alignment with Russia, and reiterated it had warned Beijing of consequences should it provide Russia with military assistance for its war against Ukraine or assistance in evading Western sanctions.Moscow has also publicly backed Xi's position on Taiwan and accused the West of trying to provoke a conflict over the status of the self-governing island, which China claims as its own.Xi did, however, tell Putin on Friday that China was ready to increase strategic cooperation with Russia against the backdrop of what he called a "difficult" situation in the world at large."