BEIJING, May 16. /TASS/. China expects peace and stability to recover on the European continent shortly, the Chinese leader Xi Jinping said when commenting on the crisis in Ukraine.

"The Chinese side hopes that peace and stability will recover on the European continent shortly and it is ready to play its constructive role," he said at a joint press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing.

Russian President’s visit to China is his first foreign trip since his re-election as Russian president. Presidential aide Yury Ushakov said earlier that the visit is a reciprocal move to the first official visit of the Chinese leader Xi Jinping made last year also after the election.