Russia Embraces Asia at Vladivostok Meeting

 Russia Embraces Asia at Vladivostok Meeting

VLADIVOSTOK, RUSSIA — Russia’s government has traveled seven times zones east of Moscow to court Asian investors¹ at the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.

Speaking to the regional gathering² Friday, Russian President Vladmir Putin warmly praised Chinese President Hu Jintao as “a great leader and a personal friend.” Putin is to have two meetings this weekend with the Chinese leader, who gives the first address on Saturday morning.

RT, Russia’s state-run English-language channel, has been airing an interview with President Putin, during which he reviews centuries of relations between the two neighbors. “Presently, Russian-Chinese relations are at an unprecedented³ high level, and we have a lot of mutual⁴ trust in politics and economy,” he concludes.

The Russian leader will also have bilateral⁵ meetings with 15 visiting Pacific basin leaders.

He is to have a short meeting at a reception with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is representing the United States. President Barack Obama is not attending the meeting because the American presidential race is now in its final 2-month stretch.

A critical partner

Putin is seeking to position Russia as a vital partner for Asia.

Noting Asia’s growing need for food, Putin said Russia plans to double its grain exports within 15 years. Russia now farms less land than during the Soviet⁶ era, he said, and Moscow is open to foreign investment in farming.

He offered Russia’s century old Trans-Siberian railroad as a land bridge between Asia and Europe, explaining that the railroad, which has its eastern terminus here in Vladivostok, is breaking Soviet-era records this year for hauling cargo⁷.

Last month, Russian Railways chief Vladimir Yakunin asked the president Putin to spend $10 billion over the next three years to upgrade the country's eastern railroads.

Deals in the works

APEC meetings are sometimes seen as more about talking than action, but deals are springing up.

A Chinese company has signed a $600-million deal to buy 52 Russian transport helicopters and another company is negotiating a deal to buy 20 Russian seaplanes.

On Friday, a Chinese company signed a $200-million deal with the Russian Investment Fund for a Siberian logging and wood-processing venture.

Salavat Rezbaev, chairman of New Age Capital Partners, a group that brings Chinese investment into the Russian Far East, says he sees a new attitude in Russia about investment from China.

“Seven to 10 years ago, it would have been unimaginable to offer a serious level of Chinese investment in certain areas, in certain sectors,” he said. “Now we are not only witnessing it, we are doing it. We're getting support from the regulators, from the government.”

Japan also is investing in Russia’s Far East.

On Thursday in Vladivostok, Putin signed the door of a car that rolled off a new assembly plant built by Mazda, the Japanese carmaker, and Sollers, a Russian carmaker. Under this $350-million investment, the plant is to make up to 50,000 vehicles a year.

On Saturday, Japanese and Russian officials are expected to announce deals for a Siberian logging complex and a $13 billion liquefied natural gas factory and port to be built near Vladivostok.

After last year’s Fukushima disaster, Japan has closed most of its nuclear power plants and has begun looking to Russia for energy. After building a Siberian oil pipeline⁸ with a spur to China, Russia now is completing the line to a Russian port on the Sea of Japan — a two day sail from the island nation.

With close ties to China and billions of dollars coming from Japan, Russia is embarking⁹ on a new relationship with its Asian neighbors.

1 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

2 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

3 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

4 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

5 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

6 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

7 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

8 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

9 embarking   

乘船( embark的现在分词 )； 装载； 从事

参考例句：

• He's embarking on a new career as a writer. 他即将开始新的职业生涯——当一名作家。
• The campaign on which were embarking was backed up by such intricate and detailed maintenance arrangemets. 我们实施的战争，须要如此复杂及详细的维护准备。