Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during the annual "Direct Line" news conference in Moscow, Russia, on Dec. 19, 2024. Photo: VCG

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday at the annual press conference that relations between Russia and China have reached "an unprecedented level" as a result of the high level of mutual trust between both countries, Xinhua News Agency reported. 

Putin spoke about China-Russia relations during the annual "Direct Line" Q&A session combined with his end-of-year press conference.

Everything that Russia and China do for each other is based on full trust, he said, while telling the press that their trade volume between has reached approximately between $220 billion to $240 billion and is continuing to grow, with cooperative projects demonstrating a secure future. "We have almost 600 joint investment projects," Putin was quoted by Sputnik News.

In global affairs, Putin said China-Russia ties serve as a stabilizing tool, "We frequently, almost always, coordinate our actions on the international stage, which is a very important element of international affairs," he said. 

Russia and China are the two countries the most affected by the Second World War aftermath, The Russian President also said at the event. "Russia and China are the most affected countries, which achieved victory during the Second World War as a result of the heaviest losses…And what the Japanese militarists were doing on Chinese soil is terrible," Putin said, according to Sputnik News.

Cui Heng, a scholar from the Shanghai-based China National Institute for SCO International Exchange and Judicial Cooperation, believes that China-Russia trade earlier surpassing $200 billion, and now nearing $240 billion, comes as no surprise. 

"Bulk trade alone is sufficient to support this growth due to the strong economic complementarity between the two countries. From the perspective of trade structure, there is still significant room for improvement," Cui told the Global Times on Thursday.

"China and Russia both oppose US unipolar hegemony and advocate for a just and reasonable transformation of the international order, a stance that aligns with the needs of most developing countries," Cui said. 

With key changes happening around the world, Wang Xiaoquan, an expert with the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times that "China and Russia are two permanent members of the UN Security Council, so their political mutual trust and strategic coordination at such a crucial period are significant for not only the two countries but also global security and world peace, as well as the development of international order."

The two countries have maintained close interactions at various levels and across different sectors. Only last week, Chairman of the United Russia party Dmitry Medvedev paid a visit to Beijing. 

Sergei Shoigu, Secretary of the Russian Federation Security Council, attended Airshow China 2024 held in Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong Province in November, where he visited the weaponry hall; Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov also paid a visit to Beijing in October.

China and Russia share a common stance on issues such as opposing external interference, safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and promoting fairness and justice in the international order, which adds strategic depth to the relationship between the two countries, said Sun Xiuwen, an associate professor at the Institute for Central Asian Studies at Lanzhou University.