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Russian President Vladimir Putin will make an official visit to China later this month to discuss energy cooperation and closer military ties, according to Shanghai's Oriental Morning Post.

 

The Russian president's visit, at the invitation of Chinese President Hu Jintao, is scheduled on March 21-22.

 

The two presidents will attend the opening ceremony of the 'Year of Russia' and a high-level Sino-Russian business forum, as well as signing a series of cooperation agreements.

 

Cooperation between Russia and China is becoming closer and more effective, with high-tech, energy, and world dispute convergence increasingly featuring on the two countries' common interest lists.

 

In 2004, China imported 12 million tons of crude oil from Russia, accounting for almost 10 percent of China's total crude oil imports. Russia is now in the preparatory stage of constructing a pipeline to transport oil and gas between the two countries. On January 8, Putin said the construction of a cross-border crude oil pipeline will be confirmed in April and work will begin this summer.

 

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said China would try hard to increase cooperation with Russia on energy issues which have become an integral part of economic and trade exchanges in the Asia-Pacific region.

 

The Oriental Morning Post also reported that the possibility of staging routine joint military exercises in both countries may be discussed during Putin's visit.

 

The first large-scale Sino-Russian military drill took place on East China's Shandong Peninsula and the Yellow Sea last August. The use of strategic bombers and high-precision weaponry drew the world's attention.

 

The two countries signed an agreement on joint military exercises during President Hu Jintao's visit to Russia last year, marking the success of the joint exercise and the new level of the two countries' forces.

 

A 2006 Sino-Russia joint military exercise is already on the two presidents' agenda. The two countries will work to increase the scale of the exercise and improve the military hardware used.

 

(Chinadaily.com.cn March 11, 2006)