Reuters reports, "China has almost finished building a 3,000-meter-long (10,000-foot) airstrip on one of its artificial islands in the disputed Spratly archipelago of the South China Sea, new satellite photographs of the area show. A U.S. military commander had told Reuters in May that the airstrip on Fiery Cross Reef could be operational by year-end, although the June 28 images suggest that could now be sooner. The airstrip will be long enough to accommodate most Chinese military aircraft, security experts have said, giving Beijing greater reach into the heart of maritime Southeast Asia. China said on Tuesday some of its land reclamation in the Spratlys, where it's building seven islands on top of coral reefs, had been completed, although it gave few details."

Reuters writes, "China is wary of expanding energy investments in Russia because closer ties with the Kremlin could harm its relations with the U.S., according to a former researcher at China's biggest offshore explorer. The government in Beijing isn't prepared to jeopardize economic links with the U.S., said Chen Wei Dong, who resigned as chief researcher for China National Offshore Oil Corp.'s Energy Economics Institute in May. The U.S. is viewed as a "global" partner while Russian ties are regional, he said. Russia is turning to Asian markets after President Vladimir Putin's annexation of Crimea led the U.S. and Europe to impose sanctions, including oil and banking restrictions. Russia's biggest energy exporters are targeting China, the world's largest consumer, yet progress on supply deals has stalled after crude and gas prices declined. 'If Russia has bad relations with the U.S., this may make it more difficult for China to build better relationships with Russia,' Chen said in an interview in Moscow last week. 'China is looking for a balance.