Russia could help China invade Taiwan, the leader of Nato has warned before a meeting of world leaders at the alliance’s annual summit.

NATO,... If this bothers you then recognize Taiwan and accept Taiwan as an ally.

China claims that Taiwan is part of its territory – an assertion rejected by the government in Taipei – and has threatened to attack the country on multiple occasions as part of Xi Jinping’s “reunification” efforts.

At a press conference before the Nato summit in the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, the alliance’s secretary general, said: “The Chinese will try anything with Taiwan.”

If they did, he said the Chinese president would probably receive support from Vladimir Putin, the Russian leader.

“No doubt he will call his junior partner, Mr Putin, and make sure that [he].. will keep [Europe] busy,” said Mr Rutte. “That is one of the reasons why we have to stand ready and we cannot be naive. We have to be clear on this.”

The alliance between Xi and Putin was one of the reasons why increased defence spending by Nato members is so important, he added.

Russia and China have what has been described as a “no limits” partnership, which covers economic, defence and political cooperation.

After a video call with Putin in February, Xi said the two countries were “true friends who have been through thick and thin together”.

Moscow has repeatedly expressed support for China’s position on Taiwan and has said it “recognises that there is only one China in the world, with Taiwan being an inalienable part of its territory”.

However, it is yet to speak publicly about whether it would offer military assistance to Beijing in the event of an attack on Taiwan.

During the press conference, Mr Rutte commented on China’s “massive military build-up”, which has left Nato’s partners in the Indo-Pacific region – such as Japan and South Korea – “very, very worried”.

In the past 25 years, China has expanded its army into one of the strongest in the world. The People’s Liberation Army now has more troops than any other military in the world and its number of tanks, warships and fighter jets surpasses the US.

Mr Rutte said that, a couple of years ago, there was not a single Chinese company listed in the top 10 global defence firms, but now “you will find three to five”.

Nato leaders will seek to secure Donald Trump’s commitment to their alliance at the meeting by pledging to boost defence spending.

The overriding focus of the meeting, which begins on Tuesday with a dinner hosted by the Dutch king, has been keeping the US president happy after his return to power caused fears he could blow a hole in the seven-decade-long alliance.

To give him a headline victory, Nato’s 32 members have agreed a compromise deal to spend 3.5 per cent of GDP on core military needs by 2035 and 1.5 per cent on broader security-related areas such as cyber security and infrastructure.

“This is a quantum leap that is ambitious, historic and fundamental to securing our future,” said Mr Rutte, who warned that the alliance must be ready to confront the threat of a Russian attack within five years.