Extra-Terrestrial

In today's EDM, Sergei Blagov discusses the growing rapprochement between Russia and China. At present, the Russo-Chinese collaborative efforts are centred on a plan to gang up on Washington and present a united opposition at the UN to the planned U.S. National Missile Defense (NMD) program. "After the recent failure of the 2005 Non-Proliferation Treaty talks in New York, China and Russia seem determined to isolate the United States in a different venue," Blagov notes.

But there are also other more terrestrial points of focus for the new co-operation between the two states:

The bilateral "strategic partnership" now increasingly seems to be firmly based upon growing economic ties. At an investment conference in St. Petersburg, Russian and Chinese companies signed seven agreements to invest a total of $1.5 billion in joint projects. Chinese Deputy Prime Minister Zeng Peiyan, who attended the conference, said China encourages its companies to invest more in Russia and would aim at bringing total Chinese investment in Russia to $12 billion by 2020 (RIA-Novosti, Xinhua, June 10).

Even the lack of clarity over the proposed Russian Pacific oil pipeline, a matter of competition between China and Japan, has failed to entail negative repercussions for Russo-Chinese ties. For instance, in May 2005 the Russian parliament ratified a final border agreement between Russia and China.