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The Kremlin opined on Wednesday that Western countries had an “unfriendly and hostile” reaction to the summit held in Moscow between the Chinese president and his Russian counterpart. At this meeting, both countries strengthened diplomatic ties and sealed an agreement for a gigantic gas pipeline from Siberia to China.
Xi Jinping left Moscow after a two-day visit with President Vladimir Putin. On Tuesday both leaders reached an agreement to build a 2,600-meter mega-gas pipeline between Russia and China called “Siberian Force 2.”
According to Putin, it will drive up to “50 billion cubic meters of gas” through the Mongolian steppes. A project whose intention is to reorient the Russian economy towards its Asian partners, to counteract the sanctions imposed by the Europeans since the beginning of the war in Ukraine.
“Every year Russia stores a certain amount of gas and now it has no buyers, so it goes to China,” explains Didier Julienne, a natural resources expert at the Commodities and Ressources consultancy.
The gas pipeline that currently runs between the two countries allows for such exports, but its size is limited. The “Siberian Force 2” project could take years to complete.
“Russia is dependent on China in terms of energy exports, but we also see that, for example, in the last year it has significantly increased its oil exports to India. So there is an attempt to balance the relationship with China and explore other opportunities in Asia and elsewhere,” Andrei Kortunov, director general of the Russian Council for Foreign Affairs, a think tank set up by the Russian presidency, told RFI. Russia.
“The last thing they want is a world dominated by the United States”
On the other hand, China seeks a greater role in the conflict in Ukraine and on the international diplomatic scene. In February, she proposed a twelve-point peace plan, which generated little interest from the Western countries involved in the conflict. The document did not propose concrete measures either.
“China is trying to recover its international presence after Covid,” explains Rafael Bueno, an expert on China and director of the Department of Politics, Society and Education at Casa Asia. “It seeks to demonstrate that it continues to be a determining actor in the new international politics. The two of them, both President Putin and Xi Jinping, of course, the last thing they want is a world dominated by the United States and its Western allies ”, he deepens.
Rafael Bueno, China expert and director of the Department of Politics, Society and Education at Casa Asia
“As for the reaction of the countries of the Western collective (to the Russian-Chinese summit), the fact that their reaction on all issues was unfriendly and hostile in nature is not news to anyone,” he said on Wednesday. March 22 Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov after Xi Jinping’s departure.
► Also read: Putin-Xi meeting: ‘Kiss of death’?
