BARACK Obama will have few traffic problems getting to the Kremlin for his first summit with Russian president Dmitri Medvedev on Monday – the Obamamania that has swept much of the rest of the world is absent from Moscow; there will be no adoring crowds to greet him.

A recent poll by Russia's Levada Centre found only 23 per cent of citizens believe the US president will "do the right thing in world affairs", with many doubting his promise of change will heal antagonisms between Russia and the West.

A long list of issues – from Nato's eastward expansion, to missile defence, to human rights, to the contest for oil and gas in Central Asia – continue to poison relations between the former Cold War superpowers.

Russian news agency Pravda was less than subtle in an editorial summing up the Obama administration, headlined: "Obama: Deceiver, cheat, swindler, liar, fraudster, con-artist."

Seems the Russian press is going back to its old ways, becoming more "official" every year. But this is over the top even for them, isn't it?

July 4, 2009: It's become fairly common in China, for managers or government officials to now be held responsible for incompetence that leads to people getting killed. This leads to prison sentences, and even execution. If you have good connections in the government, you can still get off. But that is harder and harder to do. The growing public anger over poor government performance is making it difficult for the riot police, even with army reinforcements, to deal with multiple cities having large riots and demonstrations. The corruption is so pervasive, that senior officials despair of ever reducing it to tolerable levels.

India is getting nervous about China's growing power (economic and military) in the Indian ocean. China has economic and military connections with Pakistan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and many African nations. For example, most of Pakistan's weapons are Chinese, and there are over 10,000 Chinese in Pakistan working on economic projects. There is $4 billion in Chinese investments in Pakistan, and that is expected to more than triple in the next year. China is doing the same thing in Africa, and trying to do it in Myanmar (run by a paranoid dictatorship) and Sri Lanka (which has long had tense relations with India.)

With over six million Chinese graduating from college this year, and the recession decreasing the number of jobs available for them, the military has made a big deal out of offering good jobs in the armed forces. The college grads are joining as enlisted troops, with the opportunity to become officers after a few years. Currently, most officers come from military academies or officer training schools. Over the last decade, the Chinese military has been reducing its strength and increasing its standards. In most parts of China, you need at least a high school diploma to join. And the military is trying to increase the number of officers with a college education.

About 1,300 troops, each, from Russia and China will conduct counter-terror exercises later this month.

All we hear, usually, about China is that it's going to take over the world - probably before you get up tomorrow. Not understand as well in the US are the weaknesses of China, its internal pressures and neighborhood rivalries.