Chinese officials expressed confidence that Russia was still intent on building a US$2.5 billion Siberian oil pipeline with China and not with Japan, state press reported yesterday, on the eve of a visit by Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov.
The 2,400km route, due to be constructed by 2005, will run from Angarsk, near Lake Baikal in eastern Siberia, to Daqing in northern China.
It is expected to be the focus of Kasyanov's talks in Beijing.
"The Russian side has many times consulted and discussed this project with the Chinese government and the project has already been listed several times in government-to-government cooperation plans," vice minister of the State Developmental Planning Commission Zhang Guobao told the Business Post.
The bilateral project, which has been under discussion since 1994, is expected to bring 720 million barrels of crude to Chinese refineries in Daqing over the first 25 years of operation.
"Concerning the news reports on a change in the government policy, the Russian policy of active energy cooperation with China has not changed," Zhang said.
"The Russian side has stressed to the Chinese side that `their position of prioritizing the construction of the Angarsk-Daqing pipeline has not changed.'"
China sent a high-level energy team to Moscow last week to discuss the pipeline and recent press reports that said Russia was considering a joint Russian-Japanese plan to build a 4,000km pipeline from Angarsk to the Russian Pacific port of Nahodka.
It would come with a US$5.8 billion Japanese financing plan and also place Russian oil closer to world markets, not only in East Asia, but also to American markets.
Kasyanov arrives in Beijing later today and besides attending a six-nation prime minister's meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a Central Asian anti-terrorism grouping, he will hold bilateral meetings with China beginning on Sept. 24.
China became a net importer of oil in the mid-1990s and has never turned back as its thirst for crude has skyrocketed with a growing demand for cars.
According to Zhang, China imported 70 million tonnes of oil last year and will import up to 75 million tonnes this year.
In the first eight months of the year, China imported 57.4 million tonnes of crude valued at US$12.5 billion.
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