Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to visit China this week for talks with President Xi Jinping. A Kremlin aide said on Monday that the proposed Power of Siberia 2 natural gas pipeline will be a key topic of detailed discussion.
China, the world’s largest importer of oil and gas, is one of the main purchasers of Russian energy exports.
What Is The Power Of Siberia 2?
The planned 2,600-km (1,616-mile) Power of Siberia 2 system is expected to carry 50 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas per year to China through Mongolia from the Arctic gas fields of Yamal. It would complement the existing Power of Siberia 1 pipeline that brought 38 bcm of gas from Russia to China last year.
In September, during the last meeting between Putin and Xi, the two sides agreed to increase the capacity of the Power of Siberia 1 to 44 bcm a year.
Russia’s Gazprom, which will build the Power of Siberia 2, began a feasibility study in 2020 on the project and announced a legally binding 30-year supply memorandum in September 2025.
The project has been delayed over pricing disputes, though Putin has said gas prices would follow a market formula similar to Europe-bound supplies. It has gained importance for Russia as sanctions after the Ukraine invasion reduced access to European customers.
What Has China Said?
However, China has made few public remarks about the pipeline. When Gazprom announced the memorandum last September, China did not release any matching statement.
The head of the research unit at China National Petroleum Corp said last November that giant gas projects like this need at least eight to 10 years to build.
China said in its 15th five-year plan in March that it would push forward the “early-stage” work on the Power of Siberia 2.
What Is China’s Existing Gas Pipeline Import Network?
China’s natural gas imports through pipelines have been steadily growing, reaching 59.4 million tons in 2025 and accounting for about 19% of domestic consumption, thanks to five existing pipelines that bring natural gas from Central Asia, Russia and Myanmar.
China has three pipelines that start in Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, cross Kazakhstan, and then enter the country in the Xinjiang region, supplying more than 40 bcm of natural gas annually.
In the south, the 793-km Myanmar-China Gas Pipeline began operating in 2013 and was designed to carry 12 bcm a year.
Russia and China are also constructing another pipeline with a capacity of 10 bcm to bring gas from Russia’s Pacific island of Sakhalin.
(With inputs from Reuters)
