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Russia, China forge Olympic alliance

MOSCOW, June 18 (UPI) -- Russia and China have made an offensive and defensive alliance against the United States for the next Olympics.

The Russian newspaper Isvestia reports that the pact, which includes exchanges of coaches and information, was negotiated when the Russian Olympic Committee visited Beijing last week.

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The reason for China's open embrace of the Russians is its plan to win more medals than the United States at the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing.

"They hope that we will take some of the medals in sports that are traditionally considered 'American,' i.e., swimming and track and field," Leonid Tyagachev, president of the Russian Olympic Committee, told Isvestia.

Tyagachev said that the ROC was the first foreign group to be invited to China's training complex, and they were also shown two training centers located 6,000 feet above sea level.

China's medal quest is official policy, with the country's leaders adopting a plan calling for its athletes to win at least 110 medals, 40 of them gold ones.

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