Sino-Russian Energy Relations

True Friendship or Phony Partnership?

Author(s): Shoichi Itoh
Editor(s): Stephen Aris, Matthias Neumann, Robert Orttung, Jeronim Perovic, Heiko Pleines, Hans-Henning Schröder
Series: Russian Analytical Digest (RAD)
Issue: 73
Pages: 9-12
Publisher(s): Center for Security Studies (CSS), ETH Zurich; Research Centre for East European Studies, University of Bremen; Institute of History, University of Basel
Publication Year: 2010

This article looks at the Russian-Chinese strategic partnership via the two countries' relations in the field of energy. East Siberian and Far Eastern Russia possess significant untapped oil and gas resources, while China requires ever larger supplies of energy. However, contrary to a straightforward arrangement of supplier and consumer, diplomacy and negotiations between Moscow and Beijing over the construction of pipelines has been difficult, owing largely to Russian concern about fuelling China's economic growth to its own geopolitical detriment. Thus, Russia has made slow progress in constructing pipelines to China, underscored by a sense of mistrust. Russia will soon complete an oil pipeline to China, but the proposed gas pipelines remain on paper for the foreseeable future.

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