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| Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller, front left, and CNPC Chairman Zhou Jiping. (Gazprom) |
Sino-Russian collaboration could also be susceptible to shifts in Chinese policymaking. China lays out its energy strategy in five-year intervals, but projects between Beijing and Moscow could take decades to be realised.
This could affect relations if, for example, China should decide to cut its dependence on imports and shift towards self-sufficiency, said Sun.
But if Beijing decides Russia will play a role in China’s energy structure, then there should be a strategy coordinating Russian pipeline gas and LNG imports, Sun said.
Better alignment of Chinese and Russian energy strategies will be vital to future cooperation. Honest dialogue, practical discussion and cooperation in various sectors will help further the relationship, he added.
China and Russia have typically struck deals during moments of upheaval in global energy markets, according to Liu Qian, a researcher with the China Energy Strategic Research Institute at the China University of Petroleum. Liu cited the recent framework agreement for the western route supply as an example – completed under a backdrop of Western sanctions on Russia and plunging crude oil prices.
China seized the opportunity to further cooperation, but better institutional links are needed in the mid-to-long term to maintain this cooperation and avoid disruptions to energy supplies, he added.
More @ Interfax Energy
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