China, Russia make headway in natural gas cooperation

MOSCOW - China and Russia have achieved new progress in natural gas cooperation this year, a Chinese official said here Wednesday.

Liu Tienan, director of the National Energy Administration, said China and Russia have agreed that consideration should be given to the construction of both the planned east and west natural gas pipelines between the two countries.

China and Russia have also agreed to diversify the methods in their natural gas cooperation, Liu, who attended the 9th China-Russia energy negotiators' meeting, told Chinese reporters.

The start of the gas pipelines' construction should be decided by the Chinese market's consumption needs, he said, adding that both sides' interests should be guaranteed.

"In addition to natural gas, China-Russia energy cooperation also includes such aspects as crude oil, nuclear power, electricity, coal, energy efficiency and new energy," Liu said.

Boosted by the two countries' heads of state and energy negotiation mechanism, China and Russia have deepened their energy cooperation and continued to yield fruitful results, said the Chinese official.

According to Liu, following the energy negotiators' meeting, China and Russia signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation on energy market assessment, a roadmap on cooperation in the coal sector, the minutes of the meeting on coal cooperation, and an agreement on electricity supply.