The Russia-China ‘Power of Siberia’ Natural Gas Pipeline Officially Begins Service
Dec. 3, 2019 (EIRNS)—The longest gas pipeline in the world, the 8,000-km long Russia-China East-Route pipeline, the Power of Siberia Pipeline, was opened for business yesterday. The highly significant occasion was marked by a joint videoconference call between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, who celebrated the achievement and pointed to future such cooperation between their nations and the world. (see pp. 96-98 in “The New Silk Road Becomes the World Land-Bridge,” Vol. 2)
An editorial in China’s Global Times captured the project’s broader significance: “There should be more such pipelines and bridges in the world. The mind-set that hinders such projects should be history.”
The landmark agreement to build the pipeline was reached between Putin and Xi back in 2014—after the two countries had negotiated for over 18 years. After five years of construction work over frozen, snow-covered land, the pipeline—with 5,000 km in China and 3,000 km in Russia—was officially inaugurated on schedule.
Xi called it “a landmark project of China-Russia energy cooperation and a paradigm of deep convergence of both countries’ interests and win-win cooperation.... It is also a new start for future cooperation.” Xinhua reported that Xi also stressed that “he and Putin agreed to continue putting bilateral ties as a priority of each other’s foreign relations and enhancing strategic coordination and cooperation.” Putin stated, according to Xinhua, that the opening of the pipeline “has lifted bilateral strategic coordination to a new level.” It should be noted that of all the economic and infrastructure projects discussed between the two leaders starting back in 2014, this is the only one that has materialized.
A Dec. 3 Global Times editorial emphasized that the pipeline represents a “new era in the economic and trade field.” It is also “a win-win cooperation between Beijing and Moscow which gives both countries increased leverage in their negotiations with other countries.” For example, previously most Russian gas exports went to Europe. Now, 38 billion cubic meters will be delivered annually to China. That is 14% of all Chinese gas consumption in 2018.
“As mutual trust strengthens, the two countries will have more space for trade cooperation. Cross-border pipeline and bridge infrastructure improve the two sides’ all-round cooperation. This will probably structurally affect geo-economics in the entire region. The pipeline will economically energize the places it goes through in Russia. For China, many cities will enjoy clean energy from Russia, which will help the environment in Northeast and East China. China is upholding people-centered development, an idea—if internationalized—that maximizes equal and mutually beneficial cooperation among countries. The pipeline benefits the two peoples,”
the editorial concluded.
