China and Russia are looking to revive the faltering gas pipeline project

The upcoming talks this week between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, include negotiations on the long -term natural gas pipeline project, which links the economists of the two countries, in an attempt to revive negotiations that have been disrupted for years due to disputes over the cost of the project, its path and priority to implement it.

Moscow has always sought to conclude an agreement on the “Power of Siber 2” project to enhance bilateral relations, as well as to increase gas flows to the world’s largest energy importer. Russia is increasingly dependent on gas sales to China, as it seeks to compensate the European market, which has shrunk dramatically after the Ukraine war in 2022, and may be completely cut by 2027. As for Beijing, which adopts a policy of diversifying imports and possesses other supply alternatives, the agreement did not see an urgent necessity.

As economic pressure on both sides intensified, the chances of reaching a more realistic settlement have become. Russia faces severe Western sanctions, while China suffers from challenges in the industrial and trade sectors, making the cheapest gas a more attractive option.

During the visit, Beijing may show its willingness to break the previous stalemate, by entering into negotiations on the price of a higher sale than it was previously, according to what people familiar with the ongoing discussions within the government.

China is currently seeking to set a price ranging from the local price of Russian gas and what it pays for the gas you get through the original “Power of Siberia” line, which began operating in 2019, according to the same people who asked not to reveal their identities because these discussions are not announced.

The pipeline path is the focus of a new dispute
There are still points of dispute between the two sides. According to the familiar people, China will press for a direct path of the pipeline between its lands and Russia without passing through Mongolia. While the original “Power of Siberia” line links the two hierarchical countries directly, there are alternative paths that were raised for the second version of the project.

The Power of Siber 2 project would allow Russia to charge an additional 50 billion cubic meters (1.8 trillion cubic feet) annually of gas, and thus will provide China as an alternative to its imports of the highest -cost liquid natural gas. For comparison, Russia expects a shipping of 38 billion cubic meters of gas via the pipeline to China this year, with the original “Power of Siberian” line with its full operational capacity.

Signature of the agreement is still far
However, negotiations on this project are still going on for years, as Beijing has been waiting even to reach an initial agreement, while Moscow has repeatedly declared an agreement to reach an agreement. Many people familiar with the matter stated that an official agreement is not expected during this visit.

There remains an unspecified factor that may affect the progress of the talks, which is the United States’ efforts to explore the opportunities for cooperation in the field of gas with Russia, which may include a possible partnership with the Russian energy giant “Gazprom”.

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to comment on the matter.

On Tuesday, Yuri Oshkov, the Russian Assistant President for Foreign Policy Affairs, was satisfied with indicating that economics and energy issues, including the gas line project, will be part of the discussion schedule, without revealing additional details.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not respond to a request for comment, and Gazprom also ignored the questions sent to it via e -mail.