From the International Herald Tribune (link):
President Vladimir Putin kicked off the “Year of Russia in China” celebration Tuesday by bringing roughly 1,000 Russians in his entourage to Beijing.
They were ballerinas, actors, pilots and – in keeping with the intense interest of China on securing Russian energy supplies – the executives of top Russian state and private oil and natural gas companies.
While many Russians will surely be in China for the celebratory year, not much more Russian energy is going to make it to that country this year than last. Analysts say that internal Russian conflicts in the energy sector and intentionally ambiguous export strategies are holding up supplies.
