Putin’s words for Xi Jinping may be his loudest message to Trump yet as Taiwan invasion nears?

Answering a Chinese reporter at his “Results of the Year” event, Vladimir Putin said he regards Xi Jinping as “my reliable friend and a stable partner and ally of Russia,” calling that personal bond the “most important foundation” of today’s China–Russia relationship. He boasted that bilateral trade has reached roughly US$240–250 billion, making Russia China’s top European partner by country, and stressed growing cooperation in high‑tech, space, education and joint military drills. Putin said coordinated diplomacy and regular exercises with Chinese forces make the partnership a “significant factor of stability in the world” that he hopes will last “for the distant future.”