Medvedev tellingly heads East, not West, on first foreign trip
The new Russian president is in China, where talks are expected to center around trade. His predecessor is credited with strengthening ties with China, though plenty of tensions still exist. According to Bloomberg, Medvedev hopes to persuade China to buy more than just energy from his country.
Medvedev also touched down in Kazakhstan en route; on the agenda there was a request that the country continue exporting its oil via pipelines through Russia.
All in all, the trip underscores the new global strategy game major players are part of: the struggle for control of energy supplies and growing resistance against Western dominance.
Medvedev’s first Western trip is set for early June when he’ll meet with Chancellor Angela Merkel in Germany.