无悬念，普京再度入主克林姆林宫 | Putin wins 2018 presidential election

Incumbent Russian President Vladimir Putin won 76.6 percent of ballots after 99.83 percent of votes had been counted in the 2018 Russian presidential election Sunday, the Central Election Commission(CEC) confirmed Monday.

Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulated Putin for his re-election as the president of Russia after the latter’s landslide victory.  

In a phone call, the Chinese president praised Russia's "important and constructive" role in international affairs and pledged to push Sino-Russian relations to a new level for bilateral development as well as regional and world stability and peace.

"The comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Russia is at the best time in history and sets a good example for building a new type of international relations and a community of shared future for mankind," Xi said.

Winning the 2018 presidential election by a big margin, Putin will serve his second consecutive term and the fourth in total as Russian president for another six years.

However, he will face tough challenges both home and abroad over the next six years. Personal incomes have been stagnant, although inflation has remained relatively low. The country's economy is slowly returning to growth after a two-year recession. However, far-reaching reforms in problem areas such as pensions and healthcare are not expected.

The Russian president-elected has promised to boost living standards for ordinary Russians.

Relations overseas, particularly in the West, are tense in the wake of allegations of election-meddling in Europe and the US, cyber-attacks, involvement in Ukraine and Syria, as well as the recent accusation relating to the poisoning of Skripal. On top of the previous sanctions, the US and UK have added new measures over the past week.