De-dollarization gathers pace

[David Guyatt]

NATO must be grinding their teeth about the joint Sino-Russiam navy exercises, I should think.

A comparison of the top 3 naval powers of today (from: globalfirepower.com):

Naval Power:


1 USA


Total Naval Strength: 473
Aircraft Carriers: 10
Frigates: 15
Destroyers: 62
Corvettes: 0
Submarines: 72
Coastal Defense Craft: 13
Mine Warfare: 13


Russia


Total Naval Strength: 352
Aircraft Carriers: 1
Frigates: 4
Destroyers: 13
Corvettes: 74
Submarines: 63
Coastal Defense Craft: 65
Mine Warfare: 34


China


Total Naval Strength: 520
Aircraft Carriers: 1
Frigates: 45
Destroyers: 24
Corvettes: 9
Submarines: 69
Coastal Defense Craft: 353
Mine Warfare: 119

Of course, with the rest of NATO countries combined, NATO power is still supreme.

Ukraine crisis: Vladimir Putin meets Chinese president for trade talks to shut out West as Russian troops begin returning to home bases'






Russia ramps up trade to the east in a bid to shield itself from impact of EU and US sanctions

ADAM WITHNALL

Vladimir Putin has met with the Chinese president Xi Jinping for trade talks in Shanghai that Russia hopes will cancel out the impact of Western sanctions over the ongoing Ukraine crisis.

Speaking before the summit, Mr Putin described China as "our reliable friend" and said that a shift in diplomatic focus to the east was "undoubtedly Russia's diplomatic priority".
With the deterioration in the relationship between Russia and the West over Ukraine, and in light of growing sanctions imposed by the US and EU on the President and his allies, Mr Putin said the talks in Shanghai were aimed at "diversifying gas supply destinations".
Meanwhile today, the Russian defence ministry said its troops had begun dismantling camps in Bryansk, Belgorod and Rostov near Ukraine in preparation for a return to their home bases.
It comes after Mr Putin ordered a withdrawal and praised the government in Kiev for its willingness to negotiate on structural change yet he has also previously said his troops would stand down, only for there to be no discernible action.
The order may be an attempt to ease tensions with Ukraine and by extension, the West in case talks with China break down.
Following the meeting between Mr Putin and Mr Xi today, aides said that the two sides were yet to agree a price on a long-disputed gas supply contract.

"The visit is not over yet," said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov. "Talks will continue... substantial progress has been reached but there is still work to do on price."
In terms of the energy sector, Russia and China are almost the perfect match. They are the world's largest net energy exporter and the second-largest net energy importer respectively, and share a 2,700-mile (4,300-km) land border.
China is already Russia's largest single trading partner, with trade between the two valued at almost $90 billion (£54 billion) in 2013, and the two neighbours aim to double that volume to $200 billion by the end of the decade, the Xinhua news agency reported.
Also today, the Russian and Chinese navies were scheduled to begin seven days of joint exercises in the East China Sea. It is the third time the two navies have held joint drills since 2012, according to Xinhua, and underscores their growing cooperation.
Mr Putin is attending trade talks in China that will see a ramping up of bilateral agreements - and protection for Russia from EU and US sanctions over UkraineViolent clashes continue to rumble on in Ukraine itself, and there were reports in the country this morning of further exchanges of fire between pro-Russian insurgents and government forces on the outskirts of Slovyansk.
The influential manufacturing tycoon Rinat Akhmetov, Ukraine's richest man, issued a firm statement against the separatist fighters in which he described them as being "against the citizens of our region".
He said: "Is looting in cities and taking peaceful citizens hostages a fight for the happiness of our region?" He called on workers in the industrial eastern region to show support "for peace and against bloodshed" by blaring factory sirens.
On Saturday, senior Ukrainian officials met in Kharkiv for the second in a series of "round table" talks aimed at ending the crisis.
Kiev has accepted that further decentralisation of power is the only the way stop the unrest but its position is still some way from Russia's calls for a new federal association of 27 distinct states.