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Putin looks to business and Zen on day two of China trip

(AFP)
Updated: 2006-03-22 16:29

Russian President Vladimir Putin was due to turn his attention to business and Zen Buddhism as he wrapped up a two-day visit to China.

Putin and Chinese President Hu Jintao were scheduled to inaugurate the Sino-Russian Industrial and Commercial Forum, a new club for captains of industry and key officials in each country aimed at invigorating bilateral business relations.

The Russian president was then due to hold meetings at the Great Hall of the People with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and the country's top legislator, Wu Bangguo, before concluding the Beijing leg of his trip to China.

But before leaving China, Putin was expected to become the first sitting world leader to visit the famous Shaolin Temple, an ancient site in the Songshan Mountains in the central China province of Henan, known to most westerners as the home of Kung-Fu martial arts.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (R) shakes hands with visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin prior to their talks in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing March 22, 2006. [newsphoto]

A Kremlin spokesman confirmed that Putin, himself a black belt expert in judo, intended to see a demonstration by martial arts experts and meet Shi Yongxing, the abbot of the temple that is also known as the birthplace of Zen Buddhism.

"This was the president's idea," Putin's foreign policy advisory, Sergei Pridkhodko, told the Russian news agency ITAR-TASS on the eve of the visit to China.

The final day of Putin's visit to China -- his sixth in the six years of his presidency -- followed the signing by top officials from the two countries of 15 mainly economic agreements on Tuesday.

The highest profile of the agreements was one on construction of two new pipelines for large-scale shipment of natural gas to China.

Under the terms of a memorandum of understanding signed by top energy officials from the two sides, Russia undertook to pursue plans for construction of two new gas pipelines with a combined capacity of up to 80 billion cubic meters (2.8 trillion cubic feet) of gas annually.

Alexei Miller, head of the Russian state-run gas giant Gazprom, said the project would ensure "large-scale" shipment of Russian gas to China.

The aim was to have gas flowing through the pipes within five years and for China to buy it "on the basis of world prices," he said.

Other energy deals signed included a study of plans for Russia to supply electricity to China and discussion of further cooperation on nuclear and hydroelectric power, officials said.