forbes

Thank goodness for that, Russia and China have got the obvious ‘deliverables’ from President Putin’s three day visit to Beijing out the way. Syria can act with impunity; Iran will get a free ride against Western inspired sanctions. Worn out lines about ‘sovereign rights of independent states’ will be trotted out, all while Beijing and Moscow can use bilateral relations to counter-balance ‘US influence’. All easy shots; but what Mr. Putin really needs to make his trip a success, are a raft of Sino-Soviet energy deals to gain credit on the Muscovite street. Putin’s problem? He stands no chance of getting them due to long standing pricing disputes.