Russian president arrives in Beijing
- 12 years ago
ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION)
STORY: Russian President Vladimir Putin kicked off his first China visit since his return to Russia's presidency on Tuesday (June 5), addressing a challenging relationship with a giant neighbour whose growth is both an opportunity and a potential threat for Moscow.
Newly re-installed as president after four years as prime minister to his protégé Dmitry Medvedev, Putin met EU officials in St Petersburg on Monday (June 4) before embarking on a state visit to China.
He will meet Chinese President Hu Jintao and attend on June 6-7 summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, which also includes former Soviet states in central Asia.
Among the talks between Russia, the world's biggest energy producer, and China, the largest consumer of energy, will be a natural gas deal which Moscow hopes to finalise after years of negotiation.
Russian trade with China has risen at least 40 percent year on year for the last two years, and Russian officials say that a target to have $100 billion U.S. dollars in bilateral trade by 2015 is likely to be reached ahead of time.
STORY: Russian President Vladimir Putin kicked off his first China visit since his return to Russia's presidency on Tuesday (June 5), addressing a challenging relationship with a giant neighbour whose growth is both an opportunity and a potential threat for Moscow.
Newly re-installed as president after four years as prime minister to his protégé Dmitry Medvedev, Putin met EU officials in St Petersburg on Monday (June 4) before embarking on a state visit to China.
He will meet Chinese President Hu Jintao and attend on June 6-7 summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, which also includes former Soviet states in central Asia.
Among the talks between Russia, the world's biggest energy producer, and China, the largest consumer of energy, will be a natural gas deal which Moscow hopes to finalise after years of negotiation.
Russian trade with China has risen at least 40 percent year on year for the last two years, and Russian officials say that a target to have $100 billion U.S. dollars in bilateral trade by 2015 is likely to be reached ahead of time.