Russian President Vladimir Putin is to visit Beijing on Tuesday for discussions that are likely to focus on energy. Chinese officials will press Putin to fulfil promises made on providing further assistance in constructing oil and gas pipelines into China. It is thought talks will touch on a plan to build a spur that would take oil to China from a US$7 billion pipeline that Moscow is to build across east Siberia to the Pacific. Russia does not supply any gas to China, despite being the largest producer in the world. China imports just 5% of its oil from Russia, though its northerly neighbor is the number two global producer. Russia sent 7.7 million metric tones of crude oil by rail to China last year, having agreed to 10 million metric tones.