China and Russia reached an agreement on Tuesday to build the gigantic Siberian Force 2 pipeline, symbol of Moscow’s will to circumvent Western sanctions by redirecting its economy towards the Asian power.
The agreement was reached after a meeting in Moscow of the delegations of both countries, on the sidelines of the summit between the presidents of Russia, Vladimir Putin, and China, Xi Jinping.
“All offers have been closed” for the launch of the Siberian Force 2 project, Putin celebrated.
“When it comes into service”, this 2,600-kilometer pipeline that will go from the Russian region of Siberia to Xinjiang (northwestern China), will be able to cross the Mongolian steppes up to “50 billion cubic meters of gas”He added.
more gas
The Russian president did not provide further details on the timing of the project, which will complement another existing gas pipeline, Fuerza de Siberia, which transports hydrocarbons from Russia’s far east to north-east China.
Russia will then significantly increase gas deliveries, accelerating the reorientation of its economy away from the European market due to sanctions imposed by Western powers since the beginning of its military operation in Ukraine more than a year ago.
The expected quantities of deliveries represent almost the same load as the Nord Stream 1 pipeline (55 bcm), which transported Russian gas to Europe via the Baltic Sea, before it was disrupted due to sabotage in September 2022.
The goal “by 2030”: deliver a total of at least 98,000 cubic meters of gas and 100 million tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to its Chinese ally, the Russian president has promised.
Putin assured Xi that Russia is able to meet “China’s growing energy demand”.
Collaboration
In their joint statement, both presidents underlined their willingness to continue with an “even closer partnership in the energy sector”.
Russian state giant Gazprom announced this on Tuesday he had broken his delivery record daily the day before through the Fuerza de Siberia gas pipeline.
“Gazprom (…) set a new all-time record for daily gas supplies to China on Monday,” the company said in a statement, without providing specific figures.
A Gazprom source told AFP the “daily volumes” delivered to China were “Commercial information” and would not be disclosed.
Last year, gas deliveries through the Siberian Force to China reached an all-time high of 15.5 billion cubic meters.
Moscow hopes to multiply its exports by 2.5 through this infrastructure up to 38,000 cubic meters per year by 2025.
Aware of that pipeline’s potential, Putin called Sunday’s deal “the deal of the century.”
Forced to find thriving new markets, the Russian president does not hide his intention to make China his main economic partner, with the risk, according to analysts, that Russia will become excessively dependent on Beijing.
“Trade and economic cooperation is a priority in Russia-China relations,” Putin said, noting that he hopes that by 2023 trade will “crossing the threshold” of 200 billion dollars, which would set a new record after 2022 (185,000 million).
He also said he was “willing to create a joint working body for the development of the Northern Sea Route”, one of the routes through the frozen waters of the Arctic that is becoming more navigable thanks to the melting glaciers.
Putin also stressed the importance of developing the railway infrastructure between Russia and China, before the saturation of the existing oneaccording to experts.
The Russian president said he was in favor of “using the Chinese yuan in trade between Russia and countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America”, another way to accelerate the dedollarization of its economy and Russia’s reorientation towards Asia.
Source: Clarin
Mary Ortiz is a seasoned journalist with a passion for world events. As a writer for News Rebeat, she brings a fresh perspective to the latest global happenings and provides in-depth coverage that offers a deeper understanding of the world around us.