Moscow and Beijing “open their souls” in oil and gas exchange
Moscow (AsiaNews) - "Our souls are open to each other," said Xi Jinping meeting Putin in his first international trip as president of China. He added that he did not go to Russia "to waste time." For this reason he has already signed contracts for the supply of oil and gas, as well as funding for exploration for new oil fields in the Arctic, the Barents Sea and the Pechora Sea.
Xi, always smiling, was accompanied by his wife Peng Liyuan, an army singer, her first appearance as first lady. This first trip abroad is designed to strengthen the Sino-Russian Alliance as an anti-American front, to reduce U.S. influence in the Far East and the Middle East, but also to find new energy sources for the fastest growing country in the world.
Between yesterday and today Xi hoped for and found a "way out" so that Russia, a major energy producer will support the development of the Chinese giant. There is still no agreement for the supply of 68 billion cubic meters of gas for 30 years, but there are already significant steps forward: the agreements signed yesterday with some Russian companies will pass the oil supply from 15 million tons to 31 million tons (more than 620 thousand barrels per day). In exchange for a loan of 2 billion dollars, China together with Rosneft, will explore three offshore fields in the Barents Sea, Pechora Sea and the Arctic.
Meanwhile, by
the end of the year, a contract with Gazprom is being drawn up for the supply
of gas over a period of thirty years.
Today
Xi will deliver a speech in Moscow, at the State Institute for International
Relations. Tomorrow
he will travel to Tanzania and then to South Africa, where he will take part in
a summit of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) countries,
nations with emerging economies.
China
is now Africa's chief economic partner, supplanting the U.S. and Europe.
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01/06/2020 09:48
