Speaking today at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Russia’s Energy Minister Alexander Novak said that Russia is looking to double its trade volume with China.
“Cooperation with China is on the up. If trade between the countries is currently $100 billion, the new target is $200 billion,” he said, Interfax reports.
Also, the minister said that Russian companies should have privileges in tenders for construction of the “Power of Siberia" gas pipeline. “However, I don’t rule out the possibility of inviting foreign companies, maybe Chinese ones. This is up to the project owner to choose the contractors on a tender”, Novak noted.
On May 21, Gazprom and China National Petroleum Corporation signed а multi-billion dollar 30-year gas deal. The agreement is expected to deliver 38 billion cubic meters of natural gas a year to China. On March 23, Alexander Novak said the gas will be sold to China at a price close to the EU’s one. In 2013, an average price of gas sold to Europe was 370-380 dollars per cubic meter.