May 31, 2008:  China has signed a deal with Russia to get Russian technical help in building a uranium enrichment facility that will supply less costly nuclear fuel for the growing number of Chinese nuclear power plants. This technology transfer is expected to show up in a new processing plant for nuclear weapons components.

 

The deal is labeled as worth a billion dollars, but the Russians will net a lot less than that. The Russians also expect the Chinese to steal whatever new technology they come across. This tech theft has been a growing source of discord between the two nations, but they are still neighbors, and the Russians are still willing to deal, especially if they feel the Chinese will soon get their hands on the technology anyway. For the Chinese, openly buying the tech has the advantage of bringing in Russian technicians to get the new stuff online more quickly and reliably.  But at the moment, there is a sharp drop in sales of Russian military technology to China until mutually agreeable rules are worked out.