Russian energy supplies to China, a vital partner for Moscow in the midst of its offensive in Ukraine, will increase by 40% in 2023 compared to 2022, Deputy Energy Minister Alexander Novak announced on Tuesday.
Alexander Novak accompanies Mikhail Michoustine on a two-day visit to China during which the Russian Prime Minister will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Soon solutions to shortages of technological equipment
China became Russia’s biggest customer in the energy sector last year, allowing Moscow, under Western sanctions linked to the Ukraine offensive, not to see its gas exports collapse. Their strategic partnership has grown even stronger in recent months.
At a March summit in Moscow, Presidents Xi and Vladimir Putin had thus praised their “special” relationship, united against Westerners. This time, they were quite close to the future construction of a gigantic gas pipeline project, “Siberian Force 2”, which should eventually allow Moscow to significantly increase its gas shipments to China from Siberia to China’s Xinjiang (northwest). . Well aware of the potential of this infrastructure, Vladimir Putin had also described it as the “business of the century.”
Russia already supplies gas to Beijing, notably through the main Siberian Force pipeline (which runs from the Russian Far East), and oil, necessary for China’s energy-intensive economy.
Alexander Novak also added on Tuesday that Moscow was “resolving issues with (its) partners,” including Beijing, in order to “deliver (Russia) the missing technological equipment.” Since the implementation of Western sanctions, the Russian economy has faced supply shortages, particularly in semiconductors, the microchips found in a wide range of electronic devices.
Source: BFM TV
