Ukraine's President Viktor Yanukovych met China's President Xi Jinping during a visit to Beijing today, as street protests persist at home calling for his resignation.
Yanukovych said that China and Ukraine were working to build a "bright future", while Xi described him as "an old friend of the Chinese people" and called for further cooperation between the two countries.
The meeting came as a senior US diplomat said that Washington supports the Ukrainians protesting for a future in Europe.
Ukrainians have been demonstrating since the government last month turned its back on a deal with the European Union to tie the former Soviet republic's future to Brussels rather than forging deeper relations with its powerful neighbour Russia.
Yanukovych's administration survived a no confidence vote in parliament on Tuesday over the issue, but the opposition and demonstrators are now demanding his resignation.
Yanukovych kicked off his China visit in Xian yesterday, where he toured the World Heritage site housing the Terracotta Warriors, buried in the 3rd century BC by China's first emperor Qin Shi Huang to guard his tomb.
