Newsgroup: it.cultura.storia.militare
Titolo: Sara anche OT ma ci tengo a sottolineare

che certe tesi che vedrebbero la Cina attaccare la Russia nel medio termine
sono buffonesche (alla Clancy insomma :) ) anche alla luce di questo...
Francamente è più probabile che la Francia sferri un attacco nucleare agli
usa domani....
PRAGUE - Hu Jintao has chosen Russia for his first official visit abroad
since becoming Chinese president. When he began his visit in Moscow on
Monday, Hu was repaying a courtesy extended by Russian President Vladimir
Putin, who last December became the first foreign leader to meet with Hu
after he assumed leadership of the Chinese Communist Party.
But experts say there is far more driving the Russian-Chinese relationship
than politeness. Key economic as well as geopolitical issues will be
discussed during Hu's visit, among them possible agreement on the
construction of a 2,400-kilometer pipeline from eastern Siberia to the
Chinese city of Daqing.
Aleksandr Konovalov, head of the Moscow-based Institute for Strategic
Assessments, explained why this is the case: "Very important issues will be
discussed such as the use of energy resources in Siberia and the Far East,
the construction of a gas pipeline to Daqin, and the increasing of oil and
gas deliveries from Russia to China. I think the problem of Korea will
figure prominently, although that is not a bilateral issue. If you look at
the issue, not only from the military point of view and from the standpoint
of the unacceptability of the nuclearization of North Korea, I would
[underline the importance of] the issue of a transport corridor through both
Koreas and China to link up with the Trans-Siberian railroad."
Dmitrii Trenin, at the Carnegie Institute in Moscow, is the author of
Russia's China Problem and an expert on Russian foreign policy. He said that
since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Moscow has been forced to come to
come to terms with Beijing's rapidly growing economic might.
"For Russia, which borders China, this creates a new situation - a new
reality," Trenin said. "Russia used to look upon China as a backward,
distant country. For a time it even tried to dominate China. But these days,
Russia has been forced to acknowledge that China has surpassed it not only
in terms of population - which was always the case - but in the size of its
gross domestic product [GDP], which is now five times [as large]. China is
developing at a much faster pace than Russia."
That makes China an increasingly important economic partner. Both sides have
emphasized their desire to boost bilateral trade, which currently stands at
some US$12 billion a year. China is especially interested in imports of
Russian military hardware and Russia, Trenin said, has been relying on arms
sales abroad as a key source of revenue.
"Russia needs to sell China weapons technology because the sale of armaments
abroad is the only way for industries in the military-industrial complex to
survive and receive some kind of profit. When Russia's government is not
placing orders for modern technology with these military enterprises, they
are dependent on foreign clients. And China is one of the leading clients,"
Trenin said.
Critics say the policy is shortsighted. They warn that Russia, by selling
its superior weapons technology to China, will ultimately undercut its own
interests and help boost China's geopolitical influence, to Moscow's
detriment. But Trenin said the Kremlin is not worried.
"Russia's military and political leaders consider that in the near term and
foreseeable future, China will not present a military problem for Russia,
because Chinese arms purchases and the whole structure of its armed forces
are oriented towards other tasks - above all Taiwan and to a lesser degree
towards Chinese-American relations. So they believe Russia can rest easy on
this issue," he said.
Geopolitical questions, especially in the aftermath of the Iraq war, are
expected to weigh heavily on the Hu-Putin meetings. After a period of
tension over Iraq, Moscow appears keen to repair its relations with
Washington. China, Trenin said, sees this as an opportune time to mount a
charm offensive.
"China wants to send a message to Moscow and other capitals. China wants
Russia to remain a dependable [partner]. China does not want Russia to
become part of some alliance whose aim could be to restrict China. China
believes that now, when Russian-American relations are emerging from their
crisis caused by the Iraq war, is the right time to look for new
opportunities," he said.
Those opportunities extend to Central Asia, where China has also been keen
to check the United States' post-September 11, 2001, presence. After his
three-day state visit, Hu will remain in Moscow for a summit of the Shanghai
Cooperation Organization, which groups together China, Russia, Tajikistan,
Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan.
Trenin explained the importance of the organization to Beijing: "I'd say the
Shanghai Cooperation Organization is, for China, another name for Central
Asia. That is, thanks to this organization, China can take part in
discussions and the resolution of questions tied to security and development
in Central Asia as an equal to the countries of the region and Russia. This
is important for China, because new opportunities have been opened for the
Chinese to consolidate their position and raise their influence in a very
important region for them, without antagonizing Russia, which has been the
traditional power which has long dominated Central Asia."
Hu leaves Russia this Sunday, after attending celebrations marking the 300th
anniversary of St Petersburg.

Anche questo è interessante..
President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Hu Jintao gave the green
light Tuesday to a $2.5 billion pipeline that will carry Yukos oil over the
vast Siberian taiga and into China.
"Both sides consider cooperation in the energy sector to be extremely
important. The realization of large-scale oil and gas projects, including
the construction of the Russia-China oil pipeline ... should become the
basis for strengthening this cooperation," the two leaders said in a joint
declaration signed after talks Tuesday afternoon.
The declaration, which also called for the UN to play a central role in Iraq
and for a multipolar world order, reaffirms Russia and China's commitment to
form closer ties.
"Relations between Russia and China have reached their highest level ever,"
Putin said at the start of talks Tuesday.
Hu, who chose Russia for his first trip abroad after becoming president in
March, said he highly valued their new "personal friendship."
The Yukos-backed pipeline will stretch 2,400 kilometers from the east
Siberian city of Angarsk to the northern Chinese city of Daqing. Expected to
become operational in 2005, the pipeline will be able to transport 30
million tons of crude per year.
The Russian-Chinese declaration will likely put to rest a debate about
whether to build a rival pipeline from eastern Siberia to the far eastern
port of Nakhodka. The government earlier promised to pick a pipeline based
on the results of Hu's visit.
"We welcome this event as the logical outcome of a protracted process where
economic interests prevailed," Yukos spokesman Hugo Erikssen said.
Russian and Chinese officials now will need to get down to finalizing
contracts on oil exports' volumes, prices and other technical details
related to the construction of the pipeline.
Tuesday's declaration indicates that energy cooperation will go beyond the
Angarsk-Daqing pipeline to include a number of as-yet-unspecified oil and
gas projects in both Russia and China.
The document also outlines wider cooperation in trade, including better
access to each other's markets. Hu earlier said he would like to see the
volume of trade between the two countries double to $20 billion per year.
A large part of the declaration was dedicated to international politics.
Putin and Hu indirectly criticized the United States for its go-it-alone
attitude in international affairs by calling for a multipolar world order
and the United Nations to have a central role in rebuilding Iraq.
"Russia and China stand for a multipolar, just and democratic world order
based on the commonly recognized principles of international law," the
declaration said.
Russia and China have repeatedly criticized the United States for going to
war in Iraq without the UN Security Council's blessing.
In his recent state of the nation address, Putin referred to the UN as the
international community's "most important mechanism" to make decisions. But
Putin avoided mentioning the idea of a multipolar world -- which was
popularized by then-Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov during the height of
U.S.-Russian tensions over Yugoslavia in the late 1990s.
Speaking at a news conference with Hu on Wednesday, Putin, however, brought
up the vision of a world that is not dominated by a single superpower.
The world order "can and should be multipolar," Putin said.
The declaration asserts that there is a growing need for a multipolar world
and calls for a "central role of the UN in the modern world."
Addressing the nuclear crisis in North Korea, the document says Russia and
China "stand for ensuring a nuclear-free status for the Korean Peninsula"
but also support Pyongyang's request for security guarantees and economic
aid.
The statement shows the Kremlin is maintaining its position in the North
Korea crisis, said Ivan Safranchuk of the Center for Defense Information.
But the comments about a multipolar world suggest Putin is willing to modify
his rhetoric depending on the leader or audience he is addressing,
Safranchuk said.
"The conception of a multipolar world was brought up because China can
position itself as one of the central powers in such a world. But without
it, China has no clear niche," he said.
Safranchuk added, "I doubt Putin will bring this idea up when he meets with
Bush."
Putin and U.S. President George W. Bush will hold an informal summit on the
sidelines of St. Petersburg 300th anniversary celebrations Sunday.
Still, Putin might return to his multipolar world rhetoric and directly
criticize the United States if the U.S.-led administration in Iraq decides
to unilaterally cancel a raft of Russian contracts signed by Saddam
Hussein's regime, Safranchuk said.