Putin once again failed to reach an agreement with Xi Jinping on a new gas pipeline to China because of the price
Kyiv • UNN
Russia-China negotiations on the gas pipeline have stalled due to differences over the price. Moscow wants $250–260, while Beijing wants around $50 per 1,000 cubic meters.
Negotiations between Russia and China on the construction of the Power of Siberia-2 gas pipeline, which Moscow views as a way to partially replace the lost European market, have once again reached an impasse. The sides failed to agree on the price of gas even after the meeting between Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping on August 31, The Moscow Times reports, citing the South China Morning Post, writes UNN.
Details
According to SCMP sources, negotiations on the gas pipeline, with a capacity of 50 billion cubic meters per year, which Putin proposed renaming the "Power of Baikal," have currently been suspended.
There is no progress on the price
According to SCMP, China wants to buy Russian gas for approximately $50 per 1,000 cubic meters—the price for households in the Russian Federation. As an alternative, Beijing is considering Russia's domestic price for industrial consumers—approximately $120–130.
Russia wants at least twice as much
Moscow, in turn, is proposing to base the price on the cost of gas under the existing "Power of Siberia-1"—approximately $250–260 per 1,000 cubic meters. Even this price, according to the publication, is approximately 40% lower than Gazprom's contractual gas price for other customers in countries outside the former Soviet Union.
Despite statements by Russian officials that the project is nearing construction, the official statement following the latest meeting between Xi and Putin did not mention the gas pipeline at all. Since 2022, the Russian authorities have stated at least 10 times that agreements on the project are at the final stage.
The agreement is of particular importance to Gazprom after the loss of most of the European market. The company's exports currently amount to approximately 70–80 billion cubic meters per year—the lowest level for Russia since the mid-1980s.