. Military Space News .
SUPERPOWERS
China, Russia say ties must flourish in economic crisis

New powers call for 'diversified' global currency system
The leaders of top emerging economies Brazil, Russia, India and China called Tuesday for a "more diversified" global currency system. "We believe it is very necessary to have a stable, predictable and more diversified currency system," said a final declaration at the end of the first ever summit of the so-called BRIC nations. The comment appeared to refer to the US dollar which Russian officials have repeatedly said has not performed its function as the world's top reserve currency. "We are committed to advance the reform of international financial institutions, so as to reflect changes in the world economy," added the statement, a copy of which was obtained by AFP. "The emerging and developing economies must have greater voice and representation in international financial institutions." It said that a "reformed financial and economic architecture" should be based on transparent decision-making, a solid legal basis and a strengthening of risk management. "We reaffirm our support for a more democratic and just multi-polar world order based on the rule of international law, equality, mutual respect, cooperation, coordinated action and collective decision-making of all states."

China's Hu praises Russia ties at Putin meeting
Chinese President Hu Jintao on Wednesday said that relations with Moscow would always be a "priority" for Beijing, at a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. "China will always look at its relations with Russia as a priority of its foreign policy," Hu said in opening remarks at the meeting at Putin's residence outside Moscow. "In the midst of the global financial crisis, we are actively developing relations in every sphere. In this way we have reached a new level," he said, speaking through a translator. Hu also praised the "very honest intergovernmental relations between our countries." Putin welcomed Hu and noted that the Chinese leader had made "constructive proposals" during a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) earlier this week in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg. "I carefully reviewed your speech at the SCO summit. There were some constructive proposals in the infrastructure and financial spheres," he said. SCO is a regional grouping of Russia, China and four Central Asian countries that has been seen as a potential counterweight to Western-led international organisations like NATO. "Despite the global financial crisis the relations between our countries are immune to economic or political ruptures," Putin said. The two leaders were to oversee an intergovernmental meeting on Wednesday and Hu was scheduled to meet Russian President Dmitry Medvedev later in the day. Ties between Moscow and Beijing have warmed in recent years after a period during the Cold War when the two giant neighbours were rivals for supremacy in the Communist world. Last year the two countries signed a landmark deal to build a pipeline connecting Siberian oil fields to energy-hungry China. Beijing has been eager to obtain greater access to Russia's immense energy resources. Photo courtesy AFP.
by Staff Writers
 Moscow (AFP) June 17, 2009
 The leaders of China and Russia on Wednesday vowed to beat the economic crisis by bolstering strong ties, as they put a brave face on a slowdown that has seen bilateral trade plummet.

The warm smiles and optimistic statements were aimed at emphasising the strength of Moscow-Beijing relations and how they have recovered from the Cold War when the main Communist powers eyed each other with suspicion.

"In the midst of the global financial crisis, we are actively developing a practical cooperation in every sphere," Chinese President Hu Jintao said at the start of a state visit to Moscow.

"China will always look at its relations with Russia as a priority of its foreign policy," he told strongman Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev after his meetings with Hu also underscored the importance of coordinated regional measures to combat the global crisis.

"Of course, today our attention is centred on those measures necessary to prevent or minimise the negative influences of the global financial crisis, which of course have an effect on our bilateral ties," Medvedev said.

"The main goal is not only to preserve the relations existing between our states, but to give them a new impulse," he added.

Medvedev hailed Hu's visit as "friendly and constructive," adding these were qualities "that characterise relations between our two countries."

The Chinese president ended his talks with the Russian for "Thank You".

Both countries have taken great strides to put old rivalries behind them, ending just last year a decades-long dispute over their 4,300-kilometre (2,700-mile) border.

Medvedev and Hu signed a packet of accords for future cooperation including in the sphere of natural gas and coal.

Yet bilateral trade has now taken a major hit from the economic crisis, falling 42 percent to 7.3 billion dollars for the first quarter of 2009 compared with the same period last year, Russia's trade envoy to Beijing said.

Medvedev and Putin did not mention these figures, instead citing bilateral trade with China worth over 55 billion dollars in 2008.

China and Russia also agreed to boost the use of their domestic currencies in trade, Medvedev added, as Moscow seeks to lessen the global dominance of the US dollar.

"Another very important task -- which today has become very timely -- is the question of using national currencies in mutual payments," he said. "We agreed to take additional measures in this direction."

But even as the two leaders hailed their growing energy relations, Russian energy monopoly Gazprom said Wednesday that a planned gas pipeline to China had been delayed until after 2011.

"Talks are ongoing, we haven't yet agreed on the price. Already, we are no longer talking about 2011," as a deadline for the Altai pipeline linking the two countries where their borders meet in Western Siberia, Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said.

The two countries, which normalised ties in 1989, also signed a deal only last year to build an oil pipeline, which will run from Siberian fields via Russia's Far East to energy-hungry China, after talks on the project began in the 1990s.

"We have started a complex cooperation in the oil sphere and reached an important breakthrough in the energy sphere," Hu said.

Diplomatic ties between the two permanent members of the UN Security Council have been founded on a common stance on issues from the Iranian and North Korean nuclear programmes to the Middle East, Sudan and non-proliferation.

And while the two countries compete for influence over energy resources in Central Asia, they have built up cooperation in regional clubs that aim to balance against US hegemony.

Hu travelled to Russia's Ural-mountain city of Yekaterinburg this week for a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, which groups Russia and China with four Central Asian states and aims to be a counterweight to NATO.

Share This Article With Planet Earth
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit
YahooMyWebYahooMyWeb GoogleGoogle FacebookFacebook



Related Links
 Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com


Memory Foam Mattress Review
SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS
 Solar Energy Solutions
Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ...
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


SUPERPOWERS
China and Russia: friends and rivals
 Beijing (AFP) June 15, 2009
 Chinese President Hu Jintao will seek to cement friendly ties with Russia during his state visit starting Wednesday, observers say, but the relationship is still marked by lingering rivalries. During the rule of Mao Zedong, China was under the thumb of the Soviet Union, but today the roles have been reversed -- a rising China is now the world's third largest economy, far ahead of Russia in ... read more






The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2009 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement