Putin to Discuss Oil Pipeline With Chinese - Yahoo! News

BEIJING - Russian President
Vladimir Putin' name=c1> SEARCHNews News Photos Images Web' name=c3> Vladimir Putin arrived Tuesday for a visit to China that is to include talks on building a pipeline to deliver Siberian oil to fuel China's booming economy — and his fifth meeting in under a year with the Chinese president.

With China's wealth and might on the ascendancy, Putin's meetings with Chinese President
Hu Jintao' name=c1> SEARCHNews News Photos Images Web' name=c3> Hu Jintao and other officials are expected to be spectacles of symbolism and overtures to Russia's gigantic neighbor.
Officials in both Moscow and Beijing are looking to spur new investment between the former Cold War adversaries and double last year's $29 billion in trade by 2010.
Both Tokyo and Beijing — a leading buyer of Russian oil and gas — have maneuvered hard for the best routing of the 2,550-mile East Siberian-Pacific pipeline. For now, China imports all Russian oil by rail.
China is also Russia's top customer for military weaponry and equipment.
The two countries have also moved to deepen political ties following years of Cold War suspicion. Both have pledged commitment to a "multipolar world" and last year warned other nations against attempts to dominate global affairs and interfere in sovereign nations' domestic matters.
In an interview with China's official Xinhua News Agency, Putin gave a veiled warning over U.S. policies to encourage democracy in the former Soviet republics, saying that attempts to "forcibly export democracy and impose cultural standards and values" result in conflicts.
"We do not impose our viewpoints by force, we never 'flex our muscles', but instead we consistently advocate political and diplomatic approaches to the settlement of conflicts," Putin was quoted as saying.
Last week, the Bush administration released a foreign policy review that expressed dismay at rollbacks in democratic reform in Russia and warned China against denying personal and political freedoms.
In August, the two countries held unprecedented military exercises, underscoring how far the two former adversaries had come since the 1960s, when they fought border skirmishes.
Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Li Hui said last week that the two sides will also develop five military projects to highlight "friendly cooperation." He gave no details.
Putin and Hu are also expected to discuss disputes over the Iranian and North Korean nuclear programs.
Russia and China, both veto-wielding members of the
U.N. Security Council' name=c1> SEARCHNews News Photos Images Web' name=c3> U.N. Security Council and longtime supporters of Tehran, want a more cautious approach to reining in
Iran' name=c1> SEARCHNews News Photos Images Web' name=c3> Iran's nuclear ambitions. Russia has offered to process uranium for Iran in an attempt to break a stalemate in negotiations.
Russia and China are also participants of six-nation disarmament talks on
North Korea' name=c1> SEARCHNews News Photos Images Web' name=c3> North Korea's nuclear programs, along with the United States, Japan and
South Korea' name=c1> SEARCHNews News Photos Images Web' name=c3> South Korea. Negotiations have stalled due mainly to a dispute over U.S. sanctions against North Korea's alleged currency counterfeiting and money laundering.