Russia, China to Sign Deal on Western Siberia By Year-End, Wang Yi Confirms

Moscow and Beijing will sign an agreement on the pipeline shipping gas from Western Siberia to China by the end of the year, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Monday, adding that his government will intensify trade ties with Russia in the coming months.  

“The China-Russia relationship is not dictated by international vicissitudes and does not target any third party… And the friendship between our two peoples provides a strong foundation for strengthening strategic cooperation between the two sides” Wang Yi commented on Sunday as reported on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China’s.

The Minister said that the bilateral trade should reach US$100 billion by the end of the year, with a strong focus on financial, oil and gas, and nuclear-power sectors.

“We will start full construction of the eastern route of the natural gas pipeline and sign an agreement on the western route of the pipeline. We will accelerate the joint development and research of long-distance, wide-body passenger jets. We will start strategic cooperation on the development of Russia's Far Eastern region” the Minister added.  

According to the preliminary deal signed in November, Gazprom would ship 30 bcm (1 tcf) of gas per year to China National Petroleum Corporation through the Altai gas pipeline. Price remains the main hurdle.

Meanwhile, over the last days, Ukraine’s stored gas decreased below the 8,000 mcm threshold. Data published by GIE on Sunday indicate that Ukrainian facilities are 24.88% full.