Construction workers work on a section of the Power of Siberia gas pipeline in China's Hebei province, April 2020. Credit: Imaginechina via AP Images
On February 28, just four days after Russia invaded Ukraine, its state-owned energy giant Gazprom agreed with Mongolia to proceed with plans for one of the world’s largest gas pipelines, aiming to link Russian fields which currently supply Europe to energy-hungry China.
There’s just one hitch: Beijing isn’t yet fully on board.
Gazprom has long been agitating for a deal to supply gas to China via the so-called Power of Siberia 2 pipeline (also known as Soyuz Vostok). Once completed, the new pipeline could funnel up to 50 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas per year, making Russia by far China’s largest single gas supplier.
Any such deal would also help the increasingly isolated Kremlin diversify away from Europe, currently the major consumer of Russian gas. European anger over the invasion of Ukraine has already led Germany to halt certification for a major new gas pipeline from Russia.
But two can play at the diversification game. Even though Presidents Putin
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