Moscow and Beijing sign 85 billion dollar energy deal
Beijing ( AsiaNews / Agencies ) - China and Russia signed an agreement overnight for the supply of oil and for the joint exploitation of the reserves in Siberia to the value of 85 billion dollars. During a state visit, the leaders of the two nations stressed "the importance of bilateral strategic relations" for greater cooperation in the energy sector as well as international affairs. The President Xi Jinping added talking to the Russian Prime Minister Medvedev that the two countries are " good neighbors and strategic partners in name and in fact ."
The agreement was signed during
an official visit of a Russian representation in Beijing. The
Prime Minister of the Kremlin arrived yesterday - and remains today - along
with a huge delegation comprising Energy Minister Alexander Novak and major oil
and energy company executives.
And
the two most important public companies of Russia and China announced that they
had reached agreement on the exploitation of oil fields in Siberia. Under
the terms of the contract, Moscow will have to cope with growing internal long-term
energy demand "along with China ." For
this the Russian company Rosneft and China National Petroleum Corp. ( CNPC )
have decided to work together to open up the exploitation of the vast oil
fields of Eastern Siberia. Rosneft
and CNPC will create a joint venture with a majority or 51 % , in the hands of Russian company.
Russia's
Rosneft , the largest global oil company , has also decided to increase exports
to China by 300 thousand barrels of oil per day for a total value of 270
billion dollars. In
addition to this , the two prime ministers have presided over the signing of 21
bilateral trade agreements, all in the field of energy.
Moscow
has always been reluctant to allow China to have direct access to its oil
fields, but in recent times has shown more flexibility. In
June, an agreement was approved according to which the Chinese CNPC will have
20% of AOA Novatek 's Yamal , a project on the production of natural gas in
Russia's Arctic region . As
recently as a week ago, also , President of OAO Lukoil Holding - the second Russian
company for energy production - said in Beijing that " there are no
barriers to Chinese investment projects in the energy field in Russia " .
During
an online press conference , Medvedev responded to questions posed by members
of the Network and moderated by the agency of the Communist Party of China
Xinhua . One
of the questions concerned the publication of the incomes of Russian political
leaders . The
premier in Moscow said: "Everyone in Russia knows how much money the
President and the Prime Minister earn, their private interests and those of the
family . it is a practice used all over the world , nothing special ."
In
China, many bloggers and activists are demanding the publication of the income
of leadership, but their demands are stamped out with arrests and the shutting
down of Internet sites.
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14/10/2004
