The sit-down was to be unexpectedly mirrored in Kyiv, where Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was en route to meet Putin's nemesis Volodymyr Zelensky.
"At the invitation of President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation, President Xi Jinping will pay a state visit to Russia from March 20 to 22," the ministry said in a statement.
The battle for Bakhmut has become the focus of Russia's winter campaign to capture Ukraine's eastern region, with both sides describing it as Europe's bloodiest infantry battle since World War Two.
