Moscow and Beijing plan to use their own national currencies more often in trade deals, Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters on Tuesday. "The Russian and Chinese sides confirmed their interest in using national currencies more actively in reciprocal payments," Putin said at a joint news briefing with Chinese Leader Xi Jinping after talks at the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in the Russian city of Vladivostok.

Putin said this would "increase the stability of banks' servicing of export and import operations while there are ongoing risks on global markets."

Read more: Are China and Russia challenging US military dominance?

In a show of good relations between the two allies, Xi was treated to pancakes with caviar and shots of vodka by his host.

Russia is increasingly looking to China for investment after a sharp decline in relations with the West after the 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine and support for pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine.

China is seeking allies amid growing criticism of its militarization of the South China Sea and continued accusations of human rights breaches and unfair trade practices.

President Xi Jinping said on Tuesday that Russia and China should work together to oppose trade protectionism and what he called unilateral approaches to international problems.

"In a rapidly changing international situation with growing instability and unpredictability, cooperation between Russia and China takes on even more importance," said Xi.

Read more: Russia's Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping show SCO friendship

Moscow and Beijing have forged what they described as a 'strategic partnership'

Cementing economic cooperation

The two leaders signed agreements on production and investment cooperation in the Far East, and to develop Russia-China trade, economic and investment cooperation in Russia's Far East.

Meanwhile Russia began its largest military training exercises since the Cold War on Tuesday. The Vostok 2018 military drills will continue until September 17 and will include a contingent of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. The military training operation is set to eclipse the Soviet Union's largest-ever exercise, held in 1981.

Read more: Vostok 2018: Russia lets the war games with China begin

Vladimir Putin and Angela Merkel: Through good times and bad Up-and-coming leaders In 2002, Angela Merkel was the head of what was then Germany's main opposition party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Putin was the fresh-faced president of a new and modern Russia. After meeting Putin in the Kremlin, Merkel reportedly joked to her aides that she had passed the "KGB test" of holding his gaze — an allusion to Putin's earlier career in the Soviet security agency.

Vladimir Putin and Angela Merkel: Through good times and bad New chancellor in town Putin had built a friendship with Angela Merkel's predecessor, Gerhard Schröder, and the two men remain close to this day. By late 2005, however, it was clear that Merkel was set to dethrone the Social Democrat Schröder. Talking to Merkel in Russia's Berlin embassy, Putin pledged to expand the ties between the two countries. Merkel described the dialogue as "very open."

Vladimir Putin and Angela Merkel: Through good times and bad A friendly ear for Putin About a year later, Putin shared his impressions of the woman who had since become Germany's chancellor: "We don't know each other on a very personal level, but I'm impressed by her ability to listen," he told Germany's public broadcaster MDR from Dresden, adding that listening was a rare skill among female politicians.

Vladimir Putin and Angela Merkel: Through good times and bad A gap in Merkel's armor The German chancellor has a well-known fear of dogs. Still, Putin let his black lab Konni wonder around the Sochi venue when he welcomed Merkel there in January 2007. Was he trying to intimidate her? Merkel seems to think so: "I believe the Russian president knew very well that I wasn't thrilled by the idea of meeting his dog, but he still brought it with him," the chancellor said in 2015.

Vladimir Putin and Angela Merkel: Through good times and bad Too thin-skinned on media By 2012, Vladimir Putin had taken on a harsher course towards the press and political dissenters. When asked about media freedom while in Saint Petersburg, Merkel responded with a barely hidden jab at her fellow leader: "If I were to get sulky every time I opened a newspaper, I wouldn't last three days as chancellor," she said.

Vladimir Putin and Angela Merkel: Through good times and bad Talks continue into the ice age Relations between Moscow and the West took a steep plunge after the annexation of Crimea in 2014. However, Putin told German media that he still maintained a "business-like relationship" with the German chancellor. "I trust her. She is a very open person. She, like anyone else, is subject to certain limitations, but she is honestly attempting to solve the crises," he told Bild, a German daily.

Vladimir Putin and Angela Merkel: Through good times and bad No insult intended but ... "I don't mean to insult anybody, but Ms. Merkel's statement is an outburst of a long-accumulated anger over limited sovereignty," Putin told the press in Saint Petersburg in 2017, commenting on an election campaign address that the German leader had given in Munich. Merkel's so-called "beer tent" speech saw her urge Europeans to rely on themselves amidst disputes with US President Donald Trump.

Vladimir Putin and Angela Merkel: Through good times and bad Rolling with it Just a month after Putin's remarks on sovereignty, the two leaders were photographed talking at a G-20 summit in Hamburg. While the topic remains a mystery, both Merkel and Putin used strong gestures. At one point, as Putin wags his finger Merkel looks away from him and rolls her eyes. The moment quickly went viral.

Vladimir Putin and Angela Merkel: Through good times and bad 'We have to talk to each other' When Merkel arrived in Sochi in 2018, Putin welcomed her with a bouquet of flowers. An offer of peace? An act of gallantry? Sexism? The rationale didn't really matter in the big picture. Appearing alongside Putin, Merkel said dialogue needed to go on. "Even if there are grave differences of opinion on some issues, we have to talk to each other, because otherwise you just sink into silence." Author: Jan D. Walter, Darko Janjevic



kw/aw (AFP, Reuters)

Each evening at 1830 UTC, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here.