China and Russia Put Stalled Gas Pipeline on Moscow Talks Agenda

Talks between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russia's Vladimir Putin this week will include negotiations around a much-delayed natural gas pipeline connecting the two economies, reviving discussions hampered for years by disagreements on the cost, route and urgency of the project.

Moscow has long sought to secure a deal on the Power of Siberia 2 link - to tighten ties, but also to increase gas flows to the world's largest energy importer. Russia has become increasingly dependent on sales to China as it struggles to replace the European market, dramatically reduced after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022 - and could be severed entirely by 2027. For Beijing, with other supply options and a policy of diversifying imports, an agreement has been far less urgent.