China and Russia's "profound" relationship will not change despite the turbulence in global geopolitics, Chinese President Xi Jinping told his counterpart Vladimir Putin at the opening of the BRICS summit in Kazan on Tuesday.

Xi's talk of tea during meeting with Putin is the continuation of the importance that he attaches to the tea industry. He has visited tea plantations in Zhejiang and Fujian provinces, where he worked as a local official, and encouraged local farmers to improve their livelihood through the tea industry.