Putin and China at odds as new problems brew

Russian President Vladimir Putin will be coming to Beijing as part of the end of World War II celebration. However, that celebration is also plagued by economic woes that continue to batter both countries. Russia is further deep into recession while China's market continues to plunge.

While Chinese leader Xi Jinping will be welcoming Putin in part of the celebration, there is not much for the two leaders to celebrate as both their economies continue to struggle. China's market has been plunging in the last few weeks, drawing increasing concerns from across the globe on the country's impact to other world economies and trades.

Additionally, China's economic outlook has a considerable impact on oil prices. Russia's main export is oil, thus any negative implications from China can send the country further into recession. However, this does not appear to stop Russia from leaning towards China in an attempt to curtail U.S. and Europe's dominance, according to Bloomberg.

“Russian-Chinese ties have reached probably their highest level in history and continue to develop,” Putin was quoted in a Tass and Xinhua interview. However, economic figures are singing a different song. The two nations saw their trade fall recently by as much as 29 percent in the initial half of 2015. In fact, Russian government officials say that they may not be able to reach their $100 billion (AU$1.4 billion) in trade turnover.

In another report by Bloomberg, China's current situation has sent the worst month for its hedge funds in 16 years. Companies like APS Asset Management Pte and Orchid Asia Group Management are experiencing losses due to the collapse of the stock market. Mohammad Hassan, an analyst with Eurekahedge in Singapore, shared: “Greater China hedge funds are on track to show the worst three month returns in at least a decade."

He continued, “It’s not a surprise given the funds’ limited ability to short the stock markets in China.”

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