China is ready for “a closer partnership” with Russia on energy, Chinese President Xi Jinping said in a letter quoted by a state news agency on Tuesday.
“Energy cooperation is an important cornerstone of China-Russia practical cooperation,” and China “stands ready to work with Russia to establish a closer energy cooperation partnership,” the official Xinhua news agency said.
The agency reports that Xi Jinping made the comment in a letter addressed to the 4th China-Russia Energy Business Forum.
China is one of the largest buyers of Russian oil and gas, with purchases more than doubling in the year to October to $10.2 billion as Chinese importers took advantage of discounts offered by Moscow.
This came after Europe, the United States and Japan halted Russian energy purchases and kicked the country out of the global banking system in retaliation for the war that was unleashed by Russia in Ukraine on February 24 and is still raging.
Relations between Beijing and Moscow have strengthened since the 1990s, primarily to try to counter US dominance in global affairs.
Source: DN
