Chinese President Xi Jinping told Russia's Vladimir Putin on Thursday their two countries should be "friends of steel," as they pledged to raise cooperation to a new level and "decisively" counter the influence of the United States.

The Trump administration has said it wants to pull apart Russia and China, but the two countries need each other too much.

Vladimir Putin has led Russia's Victory Day commemorations with a parade in Red Square and heightened security after days of Ukrainian strikes targeting the capital. China's Xi Jinping joined Putin as he told thousands of soldiers and more than 20 international leaders that Russia remembered the lessons of World War Two.