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China willing to build closer partnership with Russia on energy issues, says Xi Jinping

China willing to build closer partnership with Russia on energy issues, says Xi Jinping

China-Russia relations

Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Tuesday that China is ready to form a closer partnership with Russia when it comes to global energy security. China has been one of the major exporters of oil and gas from Russia as the Kremlin continues to face sanctions over the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. During his address, Xi emphasised on their relationship and said that the partnership will continue.

"China is willing to work with Russia to forge a closer energy partnership, promote clean and green energy development and jointly maintain international energy security and the stability of industry supply chains," Xi was quoted as saying by the Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.

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The gas exports from Russia have become a major topic of controversy since the start of the Ukraine war as the western countries and the United States have accused the Kremlin of using it as a negotiation tool. While the European Union has already imposed sanctions, the use of the Russian gas has not ceased completely but the Kremlin has decided to stop its supply in a seemingly political move.

On the other hand, Russia became China’s biggest supplier of oil back in June this year. According to AFP, the official data showed a rise of over 55 per cent in China’s oil imports from Russia. The amount roughly translated to 8.42 million tonnes of oil which was sent to China through reservoir ships.

The G7 countries are set to meet on December 5 to decide on the fresh batch of sanctions to be imposed on Russia and also decide on a price cap when it comes to transactions with Russia.