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With Japan putting China on its enemies list and siding with the United States in its opposition to European Union moves to lift the arms embargo against China – a policy initiated after the Tiananmen crackdown – China and Russia moved closer to cementing security ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin and visiting Chinese State Councillor Tang Jiaxuan jointly announcing the two countries would inaugurate regular security consultations to strengthen military cooperation.

An oil exporter as late as the early 1990s, China only comparatively recently came to grips with the fact it might depend on imports, the thinking being that domestic energy sources could always be developed to match rising demand.