On Eve of Obama Visit, China Signs Major Energy Deals With Putin
November 10, 2014 - 5:03 AM ... Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet in Beijing on Sunday, November 9, 2014. ... China's Foreign Ministry quoted Putin as saying the Russia-China strategic cooperation was very important “for retaining the world within the international legal framework, ...
CNSNews.com)
– Hours before President Obama arrived in Beijing Monday for a state
visit and to attend a regional economic summit, China and Russia signed
a raft of major energy agreements, further cementing their
relationship at a time when both countries’ ties with the United States
are under strain.
Among the 16 agreements signed was one on the western section of a pipeline to carry Russian natural gas to energy-hungry China, now the world’s largest economy, and a framework agreement between the state-run China National Petroleum Corp. and Russia’s Gazprom on future gas shipments along that route.
Sunday night’s meeting was the tenth between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin since Xi became president 20 months ago.
China’s Foreign Ministry quoted Putin as saying the Russia-China strategic cooperation was very important “for retaining the world within the international legal framework, for making it more stable and predictable.”
Xi told him, “Whatever changes occur in the world arena, we will consider the strengthening of our cooperation as a priority area in our foreign policy, and we will strengthen mutual political trust and expand mutually beneficial cooperation in all areas.”
Yang Cheng of the Center for Russian Studies in Shanghai told state media that China and Russia view each other as top diplomatic priorities, driven by “the shared pursuit of major emerging economies seeking a greater capability to shape the international and regional order.”
Russia-U.S. and China-U.S. ties have experienced setbacks over the past year, with rifts over the Ukraine crisis and resulting Western sanctions against Russia, territorial disputes in the South China Sea, the Syrian civil war and accusations of cyber espionage.
Obama’s two-day visit to China includes participation in the annual summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), a grouping of 21 Pacific Rim nations.
An opinion piece published in the Communist Party-affiliated Global Times Monday said the U.S. does not respect China as an equal, “despite wide recognition of U.S. decline.”
At the same time, it said, the U.S. “needs China’s cooperation on a host of practical issues such as climate change and counterterrorism, which are set to come up during the two leaders’ meeting.”
The article said U.S.-China ties were “not in good shape” – a situation it attributed to U.S. involvement in the South and East China Sea disputes – but also suggested that Obama may view relations with the Asian giant as an area of potential accomplishment by the time he leaves office.
“[S]ince the U.S. has already sunk into a quagmire in Ukraine, and as a result of Islamic State terrorism, China-U.S. relations may become the only area where Obama can leave a legacy,” it said.
November 10, 2014 - 5:03 AM
November 10, 2014 - 5:03 AM ... Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet in Beijing on Sunday, November 9, 2014. ... China's Foreign Ministry quoted Putin as saying the Russia-China strategic cooperation was very important “for retaining the world within the international legal framework, ...
Chinese
President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet in
Beijing on Sunday, November 9, 2014. (Photo: Presidential Press and
Information Office)
Among the 16 agreements signed was one on the western section of a pipeline to carry Russian natural gas to energy-hungry China, now the world’s largest economy, and a framework agreement between the state-run China National Petroleum Corp. and Russia’s Gazprom on future gas shipments along that route.
Sunday night’s meeting was the tenth between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin since Xi became president 20 months ago.
China’s Foreign Ministry quoted Putin as saying the Russia-China strategic cooperation was very important “for retaining the world within the international legal framework, for making it more stable and predictable.”
Xi told him, “Whatever changes occur in the world arena, we will consider the strengthening of our cooperation as a priority area in our foreign policy, and we will strengthen mutual political trust and expand mutually beneficial cooperation in all areas.”
Yang Cheng of the Center for Russian Studies in Shanghai told state media that China and Russia view each other as top diplomatic priorities, driven by “the shared pursuit of major emerging economies seeking a greater capability to shape the international and regional order.”
Russia-U.S. and China-U.S. ties have experienced setbacks over the past year, with rifts over the Ukraine crisis and resulting Western sanctions against Russia, territorial disputes in the South China Sea, the Syrian civil war and accusations of cyber espionage.
Obama’s two-day visit to China includes participation in the annual summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), a grouping of 21 Pacific Rim nations.
An opinion piece published in the Communist Party-affiliated Global Times Monday said the U.S. does not respect China as an equal, “despite wide recognition of U.S. decline.”
At the same time, it said, the U.S. “needs China’s cooperation on a host of practical issues such as climate change and counterterrorism, which are set to come up during the two leaders’ meeting.”
The article said U.S.-China ties were “not in good shape” – a situation it attributed to U.S. involvement in the South and East China Sea disputes – but also suggested that Obama may view relations with the Asian giant as an area of potential accomplishment by the time he leaves office.
“[S]ince the U.S. has already sunk into a quagmire in Ukraine, and as a result of Islamic State terrorism, China-U.S. relations may become the only area where Obama can leave a legacy,” it said.
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