Russia's "Year of China" to promote bilateral trade

Hu Jintao, China’s president, will visit Russia this week to chat with Vladimir Putin and to sign several big deals, kicking off Russia's “Year of China”. The two countries want to double bilateral trade to $80 billion by 2010. Energy and banking will both be on the agenda. Outsiders are sure to see the cosiness between them as a worrying alliance between two big and powerful countries with a penchant for protecting the world’s troublemakers—Iran, North Korea and Sudan—in the name of sovereignty.

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