1. Mishustin's visit to China: **Sino-Russian cooperation and the construction of the "Power of Siberia 2" pipeline.
With the warming of Sino-Russian relations, Russian Prime Minister Mishustin recently embarked on another trip to China for a second visit. One of the important topics of the visit was the finalization of the Power of Siberia 2 pipeline project as soon as possible. According to the Russian plan, the construction of the "Power of Siberia 2" pipeline is planned to start in 2024, and the Russian side has completed all preliminary preparations, including pipeline design, route survey and parameter determination. However, there are differences of opinion between China and Russia on the key ways to cooperate. The Chinese side demanded that the Russian side bear the entire construction cost and give more gas discounts, while the Russian side said that it was difficult to bear the full cost. As a result, the two sides reached a stalemate.
In order to promote the progress of cooperation, the Russian side sent Deputy Prime Minister Novak and more than 20 oil and gas ** to China ahead of schedule to hold close talks with the Chinese side. Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui revealed that due to the huge scale of the project, the two sides need to conduct rigorous, systematic and scientific research and demonstration on every detail. At present, Chinese and Russian enterprises are actively negotiating on issues such as technology, business and cooperation models. China hopes to realize the cooperation model of upstream and downstream integration, extend the cooperation to the industrial chain, and establish a long-term and stable cooperative relationship with Russia. It is the common expectation of both parties to make progress on the project as soon as possible.
A careful analysis of the cooperation model proposed by the Chinese side shows that the Chinese side pays more attention to long-term interests. Unlike Power of Siberia 1, the Power of Siberia 2 pipeline project passes through China from Mongolia, bringing in third-party involvement, increasing the risk of cooperation. Therefore, the Chinese side proposed a cooperation model of upstream and downstream integration, which means that both sides will be involved in all links of the industrial chain, including resource extraction, processing and distribution. This model not only helps to reduce costs, improve efficiency and enhance market competitiveness, but also decentralizes risk management, because it participates in the entire industrial chain, rather than a single link.
At the same time, China, as one of the world's largest energy consumption markets, is of great significance for stable natural gas**. By participating in the upstream and downstream operations of the Power of Siberia project, China will be better able to ensure energy security. For Russia, upstream and downstream integration can improve the efficiency and profitability of the energy chain, and increase energy export revenues. In addition, the establishment of long-term and stable relations of cooperation with large energy consumers such as China will help Russia to secure sales markets for energy products and reduce the impact of market fluctuations on the country's economy.
The formation of a long-term and stable cooperative relationship not only achieves a win-win situation in terms of economic interests, but also helps to form a close cooperative relationship at the political and strategic level and promote the friendly development of the two countries. Therefore, the cooperation model proposed by China focuses not only on short-term interests, but also on long-term strategic security. China-Russia energy cooperation has become an inevitable trend, but in the face of this huge project, the two sides must carry out detailed planning, sort out the details of cooperation, and fully consider various challenges and take countermeasures to ensure the smooth progress of cooperation and achieve a win-win situation.
In conclusion, Sino-Russian energy cooperation is of great strategic importance, and the two sides expect progress on the Power of Siberia-2 pipeline project. By achieving an integrated upstream and downstream cooperation model, China can ensure energy and security, and Russia can improve the efficiency and profitability of the energy chain, and stabilize its market share. The establishment of a long-term and solid cooperative relationship can not only achieve economic win-win results, but also enhance cooperation at the political and strategic levels, which will greatly benefit the development of bilateral relations. In order to ensure the smooth progress of cooperation, both sides need to plan the details of cooperation in a meticulous and thoughtful manner, comprehensively consider various factors, and take appropriate measures to ensure that cooperation makes substantial progress and achieves mutual benefit and win-win results.