China, Russia tipped to power up energy ties as Europe weans itself off Putin’s oil and gas
- China remains a stable buyer of Russian oil and unlikely to join Western sanctions, analyst says
- Soyuz Vostok pipeline will expand gas trade between countries already linked by the Power of Siberia pipeline
The assessment was made during a closed-door seminar hosted by Renmin University in Beijing by a group of Chinese diplomatic researchers looking into the war’s impacts on China and the global economy.
It also came as Russia, which produced roughly 10 per cent of global oil and supplied some 40 per cent of Europe’s gas before the war, appeared undeterred, even as the West was ratcheting up economic and financial sanctions.
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Putin tells ‘unfriendly’ nations to pay in roubles for Russian gas as economic sanctions bite
Major Asian economies are among the few remaining buyers of Russia’s oil and gas. India has ramped up oil imports from Russia at substantial discounts, while China, which has bought an estimated 25 per cent of Russia’s oil, has been a stable importer, according to Li Wei, an associate professor with Renmin University’s school of international studies.
“As long as China does not participate in the sanctions, one-quarter of Russia’s crude oil export revenue is safe,” Li said at the seminar, according to an edited transcript published by a WeChat account run by the school.
There has been speculation that China’s refusal to denounce Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine could offer a lifeline to Russia’s struggling economy.
Li said Beijing was unlikely to follow the West in sanctioning Russia.
“It is clear that China is not obliged to cooperate with the West on the issue of oil and gas imports, either in terms of economic or strategic interests,” Li said.
