Commentary According to Chinese state media reports, on the evening of Dec. 28, Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke over the phone and exchanged good wishes for the New Year. Compared with the content of past New Year greetings between the Chinese and Russian leaders from 2016 to 2019, this year’s greetings are quite unusual. The unusual lies in the following. 1. Different styles of greetings. In the past four years, Xi and Putin have exchanged New Year congratulatory letters. This year, however, they talked on the phone. According to reports, Xi did not call at an appointed time. It means that Beijing initiated the call. Is there any special reason or special thing to talk about on the phone this time? What is the purpose? 2. The timing is different. In the past four years, both parties exchanged New Year’s congratulations on New Year’s Eve, …