Beijing’s sovereign wealth fund, China Investment Corporation (CIC), and its Russian counterpart, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), plan to invest US$1 billion apiece in a new Sino-Russian investment fund, the Financial Times reported. The agreement was signed in Beijing on Tuesday by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin. The new fund will be primarily managed by the RDIF and make 70% of its investments in Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus. Kirill Dmitriev, RDIF’s chief executive, said the portfolio will be concentrated in agriculture, consumer products and green energy, as opposed to natural resources and real estate. This is one of CIC’s largest commitments to a single foreign investment manager and China’s largest expression of interest in the Russian market; so far Chinese investments have been limited to a handful of real estate deals and a small stake in a Russian bank. In related news, Russia said it is close to the final stage of a long-delayed deal to sell natural gas to China. The failure of the two sides to agree on pricing have thwarted agreement for the last five years.