"The cooperation on energy development is the pillar of the economic sector of our relationship with China… [This] allows to talk about our countries building the so-called energy-based alliance, when the trade in certain commodities is no longer a series of isolated deals, but a program… of a diversified long-term collaboration," Denisov told Russian reporters ahead of Diplomatic Worker's Day celebrated in Russia on Friday.
According to the ambassador, the energy-related exports to China accounted for more than a half of all Russian exports to the country and the proportion would hold in the foreseeable future.
Denisov said that the two sides had some new interesting projects in the pipeline, such as Yamal LNG, a planned jointly built liquefied natural gas plant on the Russian Yamal Peninsula as well as collaboration on coal.
The ambassador also said that Russian companies were talking to the Chinese side about coal gasification, production of chemicals based on hydrocarbon crude and other possible means to further diversify the technical aspects of the energy production.
According to Denisov, the cost of energy production via renewable sources, like wind or sun, would at some point come close to the cost of the traditional energy production and it would be crucial for Russia and China not to miss that moment.
