PUTIN SET TO MEET HU JINTAO TODAY

　　Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has been greeted by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in a welcome ceremony following his arrival in Beijing yesterday for a two-day visit to China.

　　This marks his first foreign trip after announcing his bid to reclaim Russian presidency next March. Putin also is expected to meet with Chinese leaders, including President Hu Jintao during his brief stay, with the talks mainly focused on the natural gas deal, that's worth 1 trillion U.S dollars.

　　A welcome ceremony in Beijing for the Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin. Putin is meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Premier Wen Jiabao, for talks aimed at deepening the relationship between the two countries.

　　A major sticking point will be negotiations over a huge gas deal that has still not been finalised despite years of wrangling. At a news conference, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said he hoped the countries could continue to cooperate.

　　FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN LIU WEIMIN: "China and Russia are friendly neighbours and strategic partners. Both sides have made progress in cooperations in various areas in recent years.

　　We believe through Prime Minister Putin's visit this time, the China-Russia strategic cooperative partnership will achieve a new level." Despite protestations of brotherly goodwill between Beijing and Moscow, the relationship is held back by mutual distrust that lingers from the Cold War era.

　　But the two giant neighbours have recently found common ground in opposing what they see as excessive meddling on the international stage by the U.S. and its allies. Prime Minister Putin is due to meet Chinese President Hu Jintao on Wednesday.

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