Free Republic

China and Russia evidently have concluded a 30-year gas deal which shifts the balance of Russian hydrocarbon exports eastwards, but that’s not the thing to focus on. Pravda reports: The central themes of the talks between the two leaders will be two projects in the field of aviation – the creation of a joint wide-body long-haul aircraft and the production of Mi-26 heavy helicopter in China, the Kommersant reports.Russia, entering into such cooperation with China, indicates that it is ready to open access to Russian aircraft technologies, despite the fact that China previously resorted to building unlicensed copies of...

Russia has said China is largely "in agreement" over Ukraine, after other world powers condemned Moscow for sending troops into the country. Hundreds of Russian soldiers have surrounded a military base in Crimea, preventing Ukrainian soldiers from going in or out. The convoy blockading the site, near the Crimean capital Simferopol, includes at least 17 military vehicles. Russian troops are also reported to have taken control of a ferry terminal in the city of Kerch on the eastern tip of Crimea, which has a majority Russian-speaking population. Ukraine's defence ministry said two Russian fighter jets violated the country's air space...

A spokesperson from China's Health and Family Planning watchdog says no comments to the recent report concerning Russia's free health care, as the situation differs greatly from country to country. Media reports which said that Russia is to announce free health care for its entire population have aroused concerns among Chinese netizens that domestic health care needs a change. Spokesperson Deng Haihua claims that Chinese media misread the source information relating to Russia's health care. "Health care reform is a worldwide difficulty," Deng said. China has been speeding up the establishment of a universal health care system, which can cover...

President Xi Jinping will meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for the second time in six months and the two are likely to discuss cooperation in large-scale projects, a senior Chinese diplomat said. "Xi is scheduled to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and their talks may focus on cooperating on ‘mega projects' between China and Russia and on further strategic coordination at international and regional levels," Chinese Ambassador to Russia Li Hui said in an interview before Xi's arrival in St. Petersburg on Wednesday for the G20 summit. The two are expected to exchange views on proposed US strikes...

Chinese armoured vehicles attend a live ammunition exercise during the China-Russia joint drill in Chelyabinsk in Russia's Ural Mountainous region, Aug. 12, 2013. (Xinhua/Tang Changjun)

MOSCOW, July 1 (Xinhua) -- China and Russia will hold two joint military drills in the coming two months, military officials from both countries said here Monday. Fang Fenghui, chief of the General Staff of the Chinese People' s Liberation Army (PLA), together with his Russian counterpart Valery Gerasimov, ratified relevant documents and announced the decision at a joint press conference. Fang, who is also a member of the Central Military Commission, is paying an official visit to Russia. According to the two officials, Chinese and Russian armed forces will hold "Joint Sea-2013" drill in Peter the Great Bay, Sea...

(Reuters) - Rosneft (ROSN.MM) plans to sign a deal to supply China with oil worth $60 billion, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday, in what could be a further shift in Russian oil flows away from Europe. Russia has been ramping up oil deliveries to China, and Asia now accounts for almost a fifth of its oil exports. "A large-scale contract, without any exaggeration, has been prepared by Rosneft. Supplies to China are expected in volumes of hundreds millions of tonnes of oil. And this in total worth over $60 billion," Putin said during a meeting with Chinese Vice...

Russia’s most senior military officer said Thursday that Moscow would preemptively strike and destroy U.S.-led NATO missile defense sites in Eastern Europe if talks with Washington about the developing system continue to stall. “A decision to use destructive force preemptively will be taken if the situation worsens,” Russian Chief of General Staff Nikolai Makarov said at an international missile defense conference in Moscow attended by senior U.S. and NATO officials. The threat comes as talks about the missile defense system, which the U.S. and its allies insist is aimed at Iranian missiles, appear to have stalled. “We have not been...

MOSCOW – Russia and China begin joint war games Thursday, for the first time adding military muscle to a burgeoning partnership that some experts see sweeping away old strategic verities, from the Taiwan Strait to central Asia and beyond. The week-long maneuvers off the Pacific coast are widely viewed as Moscow lending a mail-gloved hand to China's efforts to warn the United States away from involvement in any future crisis over Taiwan. But preparations to deal with potential unrest in Central Asia may also figure, some say. Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Hu Jintao pledged to...