Staff members from PipeChina conduct a daily inspection of the China-Russia east-route natural gas pipeline in Qinhuangdao, North China's Hebei Province on November 1, 2022, aiming to strengthen inspections of the route and ensure the daily consumption of gas for households in the Beijing-Hebei-Tianjin region of North China. Photo: VCG

Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Tuesday that China is ready to work with Russia to forge a closer partnership in energy cooperation, the Xinhua News Agency reported, as both countries are seeking to expand energy trade amid an increasingly unstable global energy market.

Energy cooperation is an important cornerstone of practical cooperation between China and Russia, and also a positive force for maintaining global energy security, Xi said in a congratulatory letter sent to the 4th China-Russia Energy Business Forum.

In the face of external risks and challenges, the two countries have strengthened communication and coordination and pushed forward major cooperation projects, which have demonstrated the resilience of China-Russia energy cooperation and the broad prospects for the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership in a new era, he said.

Xi also said the Chinese side stands ready to join hands with Russia to push for clean and green energy development, and to safeguard international energy security and the stability of industrial and supply chains, thereby making new contributions to the long-term, healthy and sustainable development of the global energy market, according to Xinhua.

Also on Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a congratulatory letter to the energy business forum. According to Russian news agency RIA Novosti, Putin said that the two countries have managed to ensure a high level of ties in the oil and gas, coal and electric power sectors, adding that large-scale joint projects for the construction of nuclear power plants in China and the production of liquefied natural gas in the Russian Arctic are being implemented.

Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng attended the opening ceremony of the forum, noting that energy security is an important foundation for countries to achieve economic development and social stability.

As the global energy system is undergoing profound changes and industry and supply chains face many challenges, China will continue to ensure energy security and supply to provide a warm winter for people, Han added.

As for China-Russia energy cooperation, Han noted that the two countries should optimize the business environment to ensure the sustainable and stable development of energy trade, and promote cooperation on major projects in an orderly manner as planned.

The two sides should support collaboration between energy-producing and consuming countries and strengthen the international energy chain, in order to maintain the security and stability of the global energy market, Han added.

“Energy is the major field of bilateral economic and trade cooperation, and the two economies will continue to expand energy cooperation in areas such as oil and natural gas due to the complementarity of both markets,” Lin Boqiang, director of the China Center for Energy Economics Research at Xiamen University, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Huang Yongzhang, vice general manager of China National Petroleum Corporation, said during the forum that in the first 10 months of 2022, Russia exported 33.26 million tons of oil to China via pipelines. 

Igor Sechin, chief executive of Russian oil producer Rosneft, said that Russia ranks second in terms of oil supply to the Chinese market, with the supply volume growing 9.5 percent to 72 million tons from January to October.

Han noted that a green and low-carbon global energy governance pattern is needed, and both sides should actively promote the establishment of a global clean energy partnership, jointly addressing the challenges of climate change.

“China and Russia will enhance cooperation on new energy, as China now is a new-energy giant. For instance, Russia may purchase more new-energy equipment in the fields of solar power or new-energy vehicles from China,” Lin said.

The expert stressed the importance of infrastructure construction such as pipelines, as part of the bilateral energy cooperation.

According to RIA, Elena Burmistrova, head of Gazprom Export, said during the forum that the company is negotiating with Chinese partners on potential gas pipeline routes, including a possible route through Mongolia. 

According to Burmistrova, the gas pipeline named “Soyuz Vostok” through Mongolia would connect Russia's pipeline system with China's, allowing Gazprom to deliver up to 50 billion cubic meters of gas to China annually, subject to a supply contract.

Global Times