The participants discussed ongoing interaction in the energy sector and identified promising areas of cooperation in the fuel and energy sector.
The 18th meeting of the Russian-Chinese Intergovernmental Commission on Energy Cooperation
Deputy Prime
Minister Alexander Novak and Vice Premier of the State Council of the People’s
Republic of China Han Zheng co-chaired the 18th meeting of the
Russian-Chinese Intergovernmental Commission on Energy Cooperation which took
place in the 20th anniversary year of the bilateral Treaty on
Neighbourliness, Friendship and Cooperation.
During the meeting, the co-chairs reviewed pressing
issues of cooperation in the fuel and energy sector, exchanged proposals to
expand it, and identified areas for further interaction, having noted its broad
prospects.
Alexander Novak
emphasised that the commission continued to play an important role in bilateral
cooperation. “The joint efforts ensured steady progress in cooperation in the
energy sector which is now at its all-time high,” the Deputy Prime Minister
said. “The dialogue is complemented by the well-coordinated activities in
diverse formats. Our countries are doing well overcoming the aftereffects of
the pandemic and putting cooperation back on the growth trajectory. Last year,
bilateral trade amounted to $104 billion.”
At the same time, the fuel and energy complex, which
plays the key role in Russia-China cooperation, continues to account for more
than a third of bilateral trade, Alexander Novak noted.
Alexander Novak at the 18th meeting of the Russian-Chinese Intergovernmental Commission on Energy Cooperation
“Progress in our work is encouraging” the Deputy Prime
Minister added. “Russia
is the leading supplier of crude oil to the PRC with exports standing at 81.7
million tonnes in 2020. This year, natural gas supplies have exceeded 12
billion cubic metres along the eastern route alone. Russia’s
leading oil and gas companies are showing interest in expanding relations with China. Major
joint oil and gas projects, such as such as Udmurtneft, Yamal LNG and Arctic
LNG 2, are underway.”
Thanks to the countries’ joint efforts, 12 billion
cubic metres of natural gas have been pumped along the eastern route from Russia to China as of late October, Han Zheng
said. “This is indicative of a steady partnership between our countries.
Consultations on other projects are underway.”
It was noted that significant potential in the oil and
gas sector is concentrated in joint exploration and development of Russian
onshore and continental shelf oil and gas reserves, the continuation and
expansion of oil transport from Russia to China in 2022 along the Far Eastern
routes, natural gas supplies and processing, as well as LNG and production of
petrochemical products in eastern Russia. On a separate note, the parties
mentioned the successful gradual transition to mutual settlements in national
currencies when refuelling aeroplanes at Russian and Chinese airports.
At the same time, the two countries are expanding
cooperation in the coal industry and the coal supplies
for the Chinese market continue increasing. Despite the negative external
environment, in 2020 coal shipments increased to 39.5 million tonnes, that is,
by 20.6 percent. We support further increases in coal supplies. With this end
in view we will draft new long-term contracts and start jointly developing coal
deposits in Russia,
including the Zashulanskoye coal deposit in the Trans-Baikal area,” said
Alexander Novak.
In discussing the power supply system, the countries
agreed to maintain the steady operations of Russia-China cross-border power transmission
lines and to develop power engineering. They also supported further cooperation
in promoting RES, the hydroelectric power industry and hydrogen energy. They
discussed separately the development of China’s nuclear industry with the
use of Russian technology, the continued construction of the Tianwan Nuclear Power Plant and the Xudabao Nuclear Power Plant, a fast
neutron demonstration reactor. They also emphasised the importance of promoting
cooperation on standardisation.
Russian and
Chinese representatives also reviewed preparations for a bilateral energy
business forum scheduled for November 29 of this year online.
