Russian energy will help China's environment
Energy cooperation between Russia and China could help Beijing be more environmentally friendly, while Moscow will find a way out of isolation, experts told Sputnik.
An analyst at China Gas' Petropower (Shanghai) Holding Co. Ltd. told Sputnik that China would be able to take care of environment better with the deliveries of Russian gas.
"The Chinese government is taking many steps to protect environment, we are moving from coal to gas, which opens vast possibilities for gas enterprises… That's why, if Russia starts deliveries of gas to China and the gas is reasonably priced, it will be good news for gas enterprises," An Na said.
The deliveries of Russian gas to China would allow the country to have a secure source of gas, which will help ease the pressure on Chinese domestic gas infrastructure, the analyst said.
Li Jianmin, from the Institute of Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that the signature of Russia-China agreements would help Russia avoid isolation:
"Recently signed Russian-Chinese agreements on cooperation in the financial sphere will facilitate Russia's exit from isolation."
The expert added that within three years the two countries intended to set up a platform for financial cooperation, a credit organization which would allow Russia to attract up to $20 billion and solve the problem of external loans.
She noted that with the introduction of Western sanctions targeting Russia's economy, Moscow began to show more interest in Asian markets, including that of China. However, she stressed, Russia needed time to understand the specificity of financial instruments on Chinese stock markets.
Li suggested that Russian companies should enter the Chinese market gradually, starting with placing shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, which might serve as a transit point to a broader Chinese market.
On Friday, Russia's energy giant Gazprom said the company was ready to start gas deliveries to China via the Western route immediately once the pipeline was ready. The Western route project envisages the construction of a gas pipeline capable of transporting 30 billion cubic meters of gas annually from West Siberia to China.
An earlier agreed eastern pipeline, the Power of Siberia, is projected to supply 38 billion cubic meters of gas annually over a period of 30 years beginning 2018.