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Ties with China forged to offset Western clout
By Michael Mainville
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
April 6, 2006


MOSCOW -- Amid worsening relations with the West, the Kremlin is boosting its political, economic and military ties with China as both countries look to counterbalance U.S. global influence, analysts said.
On a recent visit to Beijing, Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed the burgeoning relationship as a model of international cooperation.
"Russia and China are two of the largest powers in the world, and our relations are more than just a factor of geopolitical stability. They are an example of an open international partnership that is not directed against any third country and that helps develop a better and more just world order," Mr. Putin said in a March 21 speech broadcast live on Chinese television.
Mr. Putin's visit marked the fifth time he had met with Chinese President Hu Jintao in less than a year and led to a Russian pledge to step up energy supplies to China by opening a gas pipeline within five years.
"As relations with the West have worsened, Mr. Putin started pursuing this idea of a Eurasian strategic alliance between Russia and China," said Andrei Piontkovsky, an independent analyst and visiting fellow at the Hudson Institute. "He's become obsessed with pushing an anti-Western, and especially anti-American, foreign policy."
Russia has been coming under increasing fire from Western governments, including Washington, for backsliding on democracy. Since coming to power in 1999, Mr. Putin has stifled an independent press, cemented Kremlin control over parliament, eliminated elections for regional governments and imposed new restrictions on nongovernmental organizations.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/world/20060405-094632-2214r.htm