“Russia and China bolstered their close but increasingly imbalanced relationship on Tuesday when Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin ushered through a tentative gas supply agreement and deals worth $3.5 billion.

Putin’s talks with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao also covered the international hotspots on which the countries share many views, but with China’s economy steaming ahead while Russia has lagged during the global downturn, they focused on nurturing ties in trade and energy.

The centerpiece of the day was a preliminary agreement on Russian state-run gas giant Gazprom supplying China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC).

“China is a colossal market. The diversification of supplies is a very important direction for Gazprom,” Putin told reporters after his talks with Wen.

“Our cooperation is growing in many ways: mining, joint work on pipelines, oil supplies and in the future, possibly, gas.” “