Putin & Xi Strengthen Ties With Major Russia-China Gas Deal as US Tensions Rise

Russian President Vladimir Putin, during a high-profile summit in Beijing on Tuesday, hailed what he called an “unprecedentedly high level” of relations with China, as Russia’s state-owned energy giant Gazprom signed a long-anticipated deal to build the Power of Siberia-2 gas pipeline, CNN reported.

Under the legally binding agreement, the report said, 50 billion cubic meters of gas will be delivered on an annual basis from western Russia to northern China through Mongolia. 

Confirming the 30-year supply deal, Gazprom CEO Aleksey Miller said the gas prices China will pay are lower than what Europe used to be charged, according to Russia’s TASS news agency.

Analysts say the new pipeline could help Moscow offset up to half of its gas export losses to Europe following the invasion of Ukraine and subsequent Western sanctions.

Putin and Xi’s Warm Exchange

Following a trilateral meeting with Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh, Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping sat down for bilateral talks at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, in what many saw as a projection of the strength of their partnership amid shared friction with the West.

Reminiscing wartime cooperation between the Soviet Union and China, Putin reportedly told Jinping, “We were always together then, and we remain together now.” 

Xi, for his part, called Putin an “old friend” and indicataed that China is “willing to work together with Russia” to support “each other’s development and revitalisation, firmly uphold international fairness and justice, and build a just and reasonable global governance system.”

A Visit Loaded with Symbolism

The visit marked Putin’s longest stay in a single country since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. It also followed a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member countries in Tianjin, which both Putin and Xi attended, alongside PM Modi.

Xi and Putin also reportedly met for tea with top aides, while warmly exchanging words at a banquet dinner on Sunday evening. On Wednesday, both leaders are expected to appear at a massive military parade in Beijing commemorating the 80th anniversary of the World War II end in Asia. North Korea leader Kim Jong Un is also expected to attend.