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China, Russia to boost “energy partnership”
August 31, 2014, 7:07 am

Russia has been attempting to shrug off its dependence on European energy markets and instead adopt a “look-east” policy towards China and India [AP]

Russia has been attempting to shrug off its dependence on European energy markets and instead adopt a “look-east” policy towards China and India [AP]

Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli said in Moscow on Sunday, Beijing will step up efforts to “establish a strategic partnership of energy cooperation with Russia as agreed by the heads of state of the two countries”. Russia is set to provide the world’s fastest growing economy with the natural gas it needs to keep pace for the next 30 years.

“China and Russia have achieved rich fruits of energy cooperation in the fields of oil, natural gas, nuclear energy, coal and electricity,” said Zhang.

Zhang and his Russian counterpart Arkady Dvorkovich co-chaired the 11th meeting of the China-Russia Energy Cooperation Committee in Moscow on Saturday.

During the meeting, the two sides had an “in-depth exchange of views on cooperation in the fields of natural gas, oil, coal, electricity, nuclear energy and renewable energy” reported Chinese state-run agency Xinhua.

Russia has been attempting to shrug off its dependence on European energy markets and instead adopt a “look-east” policy towards China and India.

On Monday, Chinese Vice Premier Zhang will fly to Yakutsk in eastern Siberia to attend the launch of construction of the Russian section of the eastern route of the China-Russia natural gas pipelines.

Russia will supply China 38 billion cubic meters of gas per year via the eastern ‘Power of Siberia’ pipeline, which crosses Siberia and reaches China’s populous northeast regions. A separate route that could deliver gas to China’s western provinces and provide diversification is also in the works.

In May this year, Russia and China had signed a mammoth $400 billion gas deal in Shanghai after a decade-long gas supply talks between the two countries.

The China-Russia Energy Cooperation Committee is now laying the groundwork for a Xi-Putin summit in October.

Official data shows China imported 24.35 million tons of crude oil, 27.28 million tons of coal and 3.5 billion kwh of power from Russia in 2013.

The first two reactors of the Tianwan nuclear power plant in east China’s Jiangsu Province, a major joint project between the two countries, have been put into test operation and the other two are under construction.

Zhang reached Moscow from Prague on Friday evening.

 

TBP and Agencies