On the 9 November, Chinese President Xi Junping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin vowed to enhance energy co-operation, which is of great significance to safeguarding the two countries' energy security. According to news reports, Putin and Xi signed 17 documents in relation to co-operation in the natural gas sector.
In order to boost their energy co-operation, the two countries signed a series of bilateral co-operation agreements, including an MoU on the China-Russia West Route natural gas pipeline and a framework agreement between China National Petroleum Corporation and Russiaº£½Ç³Ô¹ÏÍø™s Gazprom.
Russiaº£½Ç³Ô¹ÏÍø™s western route would supply 30 billion m3/yr of gas to China and is expected to be completed in 2020. It comes in addition to the eastern pipeline, which will deliver 38 billion m3/yr of gas to China. Work on the eastern route has already begun after a deal was clinched back in May. When the route is complete, China will become Russiaº£½Ç³Ô¹ÏÍø™s biggest gas customer.
Last year, China consumed approximately 169 billion m3 of natural gas. For China, the co-operation helps ease gas shortages and curb its dependence on coal. The agreement gives Russia a way to vastly expand its marked for its gas, which now goes mostly to Europe.
During the meeting, Xi and Putin agreed that energy co-operation is crucial for the energy security of the two countries. China is Russiaº£½Ç³Ô¹ÏÍø™s biggest trading partner, with bilateral trade reaching US$ 89.9 billion last year.
Edited from various sources by