"Russia's Putin leaves China with no gas deal - AFP 12 October 2011
BEIJING : Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin left China on Wednesday after a visit that yielded US$7 billion in trade pacts but no breakthrough on a long-delayed gas deal with the world's top energy consumer.
Putin held talks with his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao and President Hu Jintao in Beijing on his first foreign trip since he announced plans to reclaim the Russian presidency.
Russia is the world's largest producer of energy, and Putin said progress had been made on a 30-year deal to pump gas to China that was signed in 2009 but has been mired in disagreements over pricing.
"We are close to the final stage of work on gas supplies to the Chinese market," Putin told journalists on Tuesday of the agreement.
China became Russia's top trading partner for the first time last year and the two countries want to increase trade from US$70 billion this year to US$100 billion by 2015 and US$200 billion by 2020.
China's sovereign wealth fund signed a deal during Putin's visit to invest in a new Russian state-backed fund, to encourage foreign direct investment in Russia.
The China Investment Corporation will put US$1.0 billion into the Russian Direct Investment Fund, founded in June with backing from Putin and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
Putin has paid frequent visits to China in his capacity as president and prime minister since he took power in 1999.
His latest two-day trip to Beijing follows last month's announcement that he plans to reclaim the presidency in a bid that may keep him in power until 2024.
Putin is well known in China, where businessmen and politicians consider him the top figure in the Russian political pecking order. On Wednesday, Hu called him "an old friend of China.""
Russia still matters. That's what matters to Putin and his supporters. Russia and China can counter-balance the weakening USA! I think that is what I can conclude from Putin's trip.
Lessons for me are:
1. politics do not care who is the 'right' guy or gal as long as someone in power is or are happy with certain arrangement. Mainly to preserve their own power!;
2. national pride still matters to some people. So, keeping a tough stance with the public enemy, USA, in China and Russia will score political points;
3. while the 2 nations try to work together to counter the power of USA, there is no guarantee that their 'structured' relationship can last. In fact, this type of 'trading of benefits and power' relationship cannot stand up to stresses normally. A lasting relationship normally has the foundatin of - mutual benefits, mutual sacrifices, and mutual trust!
May the game continue as long as it works against USA - for now ...
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