Russian-Chinese energy cooperation reaches strategic level, says expert

SINGAPORE, May 19. /TASS/. Decrease of demand for energy resources on the European market and the anti-Russian sanctions introduced by the West have given a new impetus to Russian-Chinese cooperation in oil and gas, Xia Yishan, the director of the center for energy studies at the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday at a conference titled ‘Russia-Asia Energy Summit 2015’. The two countries’ energy cooperation has reached a strategic level, he said. It acquired special importance amid the sanctions and the shortage of technologies. Xia Yishan also stressed the lucrative financial terms offered by China. Over the past years, cooperation has evolved away from the simple export/import formula to the supplies of technologies, prospecting, research, marketing of oil products, and the issuance of loans. Also, Chinese companies received permission to buy stakes in Russian enterprises, Xia said. Along with it, he recalled the big prospects for bilateral cooperation. Although the European market still remains the main area for Russian hydrocarbon exports, the demands for resources will be decreasing there in the future while China is showing permanent growth, which will necessitate greater amounts of energy resources, Xia said. He indicated that China’s demand for oil might stand between 450 mln tons and 500 mln tons by 2020. Read more