A Chinese Specialist on Russia-China Energy Cooperation

Over the past few years Russia-China energy cooperation has expanded greatly.
East China Pedagogical University Russia Studies Center director Feng Shaolei enthusiastically noted, "Cooperation on pipelines with Russia Is a gift from the heavens!" Kommersant newspaper reported.

During an interview, Feng addressed the issue of the laggard pace of pipeline construction by noting, "We certainly should not be surprised by the fact that colleagues from the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China needed so much time to achieve agreements. Such cooperation presupposes the consideration of a great number of specific details, so that, if possible, the agreement would be capable of solving problems that might arise in the future. Thanks to the (2008 recession) crisis, there was a breakthrough in several fields, where there had not been any movement for many years.

This fact proves that the deep mutual complementarity of our countries was more fully recognized in the period of the crisis. Obviously, cooperation of the Russian Federation and the PRC in the sphere of energy resources is taking place not without active stimulation. This refers also to the decisions on laying an oil pipeline from Russia to China, adopted with the direct participation of Premier Putin. This is very clear to us in China."

By. Joao Peixe, Deputy Editor OilPrice.com