When Russia and China signed a $400bn gas supply deal in May it marked an unexpected breakthrough after a decade of delays and bogged-down negotiations. For Vladimir Putin, the deal was something more: the dawn of a golden era in Russo-Chinese economic co-operation.
As relations with the west fray over Moscow’s annexation of Crimea, the Russian president has reacted by seeking to throw open the door to Chinese trade and investment.
In addition to the gas deal, Moscow has lauded China as Russia’s most important economic partner, set up a host of joint projects in energy, infrastructure and technology, and estimated that bilateral trade will more than double by 2020 to $200bn.