Russia, China support gas supply along Western, Eastern routes - Chinese diplomat

UFA, July 8. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping spoke for more active development of projects on gas supplies to China along the Eastern and Western routes, Gui Congyou, a top official at the Department of European-Central Asian Affairs of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said Wednesday. "Over the past years, the volume of trade between our countries grew at heightened rates," Gui said. "The fall of mutual trade volumes since the year start can’t fundamentally change the general dynamics of trade cooperation between our countries." "We are the key economies of the world, we have a great potential, we have sufficient resources to overcome this situation. At the talks, the leaders discussed the [trade turnover] issues. They decided to take specific measures to render financial support in the implementation of such joint projects as the Russian-Chinese gas pipeline along the Eastern and Western routes," the official said. The contract for sale and purchase of gas along the "Eastern route" was signed by Russian state-controlled energy giant Gazprom and China’s CNPC on May 21, 2014. It was signed for 30 years and stipulates Russian gas supplies to China in the volume of 38 billion cubic meters annually. "The Eastern route" envisions delivery to China of resources of the Yakut and Irkutsk gas production centers via the Sila Sibiri main gas pipeline. On May 8, Russia and China signed an agreement on framework, basic conditions of gas supplies to China along "the Western route." Now the sides will have to draft and sign the contract. Earlier Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller said Gazprom was holding talks with the Chinese side on payments on the contract on gas supplies along "the Western route" in rubles and yuans. "The Western route" envisions delivery to China of gas from West Siberia’s deposits in the volume of 30 billion cubic meters annually, and does not rule out that later the volume will grow to 100 billion cu m annually. The gas supplies are expected to take place along a 2,700-kilometer-long route. Read more