NEWSWATCH: “Putin Heads to China to Cement Ties, but Obstacles Remain” – AP

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With … Putin heading to China this weekend, officials in both countries extoll a blossoming ‘strategic partnership’ …. But despite Moscow’s push to strengthen ties with Beijing amid a bitter strain in relations with the West, Russia-China trade has shrunk sharply and a slew of ambitious projects have remained largely on paper. Observers attribute the slow progress to Beijing’s hard-nosed bargaining position and the Kremlin’s deep-seated suspicions about the growing power of its mighty partner. * * * The renewed push to bolster relations with China came after the United States and the European Union imposed an array of crippling sanctions on Russia over its annexation of the Crimean Peninsula … cutting … access to world financial markets and blocking the transfer of modern technologies. Moscow was also purged from the Group of Eight ….

Click here for AP: Putin Heads to China to Cement Ties, but Obstacles Remain.

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