During the upcoming visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to China on September 2nd-3rd representatives of Gazprom are planning to sign with their counterparts from the China National Petroleum Company (CNPC) a Memorandum of Understanding on natural gas supplies to China through the pipeline to the Russian Far East, an assistant of the head of the Russian Federation, Yuri Ushakov said.
Earlier, the head of the Russian company, Alexey Miller, announced the imminent signing of a document which will allow the implementation of the option of gas supply to China through the pipeline, developed by Gazprom in December as an alternative to the project of Vladivostok LNG, RIA Novosti reports.
As thevDeputy Director of the Institute of Asian and African Studies of Moscow State University Andrey Korneev said in an interview with a correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza, China is a major importer of oil and gas. It is a well-known fact. "Moreover, in the future gas should play an increasingly important role in the energy balance of China, as the use of coal will be limited and reduced because it can seriously worsen the environment. Therefore, gas will improve the ecological situation for a long period of time," the expert said.
Answering a question about how China is interested in enhancing cooperation with Russia in the oil and gas sector today and in the foreseeable future, the Deputy Director of the Institute of Asian and African countries noted that now the oil and gas cooperation between the two countries is experiencing a difficult period due to falling oil and gas prices.
Speaking about Vladimir Putin’s upcoming trip to China, Andrey Korneev said that this visit is important especially in the political and strategic sense. "It is important from the point of view of various kinds of commercial and economic interests, but, in my opinion, the importance of it is political and diplomatic, geopolitical. The point is that China is celebrating the anniversary of the Victory in World War II for the first time. A main guest at this celebration will be the Russian President. Therefore, it certainly emphasizes the specific dynamics of Sino-Russian relations, as well as the new quality of partnership. It is difficult to understand the trade and economic relationship without noting this,’’ the expert said.
