The new pipeline will connect Western Siberia’s gas fields to China via Mongolia, tapping fields once supplying Europe. Supported by the Soyuz Vostok transit line, it will have a capacity of 50 billion cubic meters per year.
For Russia, "it is important to increase its exports of gas and to compensate for the loss of the European market," international affairs analyst Gilbert Doctorow tells Sputnik.
With US-China tensions and Western control over chokepoints for supplies of liquified natural gas (LNG) from the Middle East, it makes sense for China to strike a deal with Russia to secure more pipeline gas.
"This project sends a signal to the West that China is not abandoning energy cooperation with Russia, especially at a time when the US is urging punishment of Russia’s trading partners," Stanislav Mitrakhovich, leading expert at the Russia’s National Energy Security Fund and at the Financial University under the Russian Government, says.
This cooperation sends a signal to the Global South that major countries, such as India, China and Russia, can reach agreements without regard for the West — even under Western pressure. Symbolically, this shows the Global South’s sovereignty and strength.
New Center Of Gravity
This project could become a hub for Western-independent infrastructure for Global South countries, fostering multilateral ties with minimal external interference. The Global South prioritizes its own interests over the West’s Ukraine aid agenda.