Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping have renewed plans for a natural gas pipeline between Russia and China – though no details about the project or a timeline for its completion have been provided so far
A previously agreed deal has been stalled for years, but the two countries reached a “general understanding” about the pipeline, an aide to Putin tells reporters
The agreement comes as the two leaders meet in Beijing and sign more than 20 agreements on trade and tech, as well as a declaration on a “multi-polar world order”
The two leaders are set for a meeting over tea a little later, where they’re expected to discuss geopolitics – including Ukraine, Iran and the US
Without Chinese money and tech, the very survival of Putin’s regime would be in question, BBC Monitoring’s chief analyst writes
But Beijing is being more careful with its language because Xi wants to appear close to Moscow, but not too close, writes our China correspondent
