MOSCOW -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has made his first-ever public reference to the possibility of a Russia-China military alliance, but Dmitri Trenin, director of the Carnegie Moscow Center, told Nikkei Asia that Moscow's real intention with the suggestion is to check the incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden.
On Oct. 22, Putin told a meeting of domestic and foreign experts on Russian affairs that although Russia does not need a military alliance with China in general, "theoretically, it is quite possible." This caused ripples.
