The China-Russia strategic partnership is glowing with optimism, standing at an all-time high.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is in Beijing today for a state visit to China.

Putin will attend the grand opening ceremony of the Year of Russia in China. We are expecting a large number of events to be unveiled, presenting a more vivid picture of the big neighbour to the north.

Pomp aside, a concrete demonstration of the strategic partnership will be several agreements the leaders will ink in the next two days. They are expected to detail co-operation on energy, trade, Shanghai Co-operation Organization and issues concerning Central Asia and other parts of the world.

Bilateral relations are built on solid foundations.

Putin announced in January that the proposal on the pipeline to send oil from Siberia to China will be finalized in April, and construction is due to begin in the summer. Such a statement indicates that the pipeline issue will be one of the priority topics for President Hu Jintao and Putin. Energy will dominate trade this year, and for many years to come. Energy co-operation is based on mutual needs and benefits both sides.

Putin's China visit will maintain the healthy development of bilateral relations. These ties have been moving further into trade, politics and non-governmental fields.

Trade between the two countries is not fully developed, with its volume hitting nearly US$30 billion last year. China and Russia have targeted a trade volume somewhere between US$60 billion and US$80 billion by 2010.

A good working and personal relationship between the two leaders facilitates their exchange of views on issues of utmost importance.

China-Russia ties have warmed with the signing in 2004 and ratification in 2006 of the final settlement of a protracted border dispute. Guided by the principles of mutual understanding, the two countries have solved the boundary dispute for good. Their resolution of the issue, which has set a precedent for other members of the global village to handle boundary disputes through dialogue and negotiations, has offered a building block for consolidating bilateral relations.

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