China and Russia on Monday opened the ceremonies for a natural gas pipeline that will make it easier to transport natural gas from Siberia to Shanghai. The countries' leaders praised the project through a video link.
According to China Daily, while Chinese President Xi Jinping was in Beijing and Russian President Vladimir Putin was in Sochi during the opening ceremony, the two leaders opted for a video call that was watched by people who graced the launch event.
The project was first signed in 2014 and since then, the two countries worked to complete the pipeline that starts from Shanghai, passes through northeast China, and ends in the eastern region of Siberia.
In his speech to commemorate the pipeline's completion, Xi noted that the initiative was a solid representation of good bilateral cooperation between two economic leaders. He thanked workers who did their part in the project even through harsh weather conditions.
Xi added that China and Russia should continue to establish further projects that promote green and sustainable operations. He said both sides should work on ensuring safe construction and operations for everyone along the pipeline's route.
For his part in the ceremony, Putin noted that the project's completion also marks seven decades of bilateral relations between the two nations. He said his country will supply up to 1 trillion cubic meters of natural gas to the Chinese market.
On a yearly basis, the pipeline project is expected to deliver around 38 billion cubic meters of the product from eastern Russia to China, accounting for around 13.6 percent of the Chinese people's overall gas consumption.
Professor at the Russian Academy of Sciences, Yana Leksyutina, noted that Russia is China's biggest trading partner for almost a decade now and the natural gas pipeline will further enhance collaborative work between the two sides.
Leksyutina further revealed that the Russian side is looking forward to more initiatives with its Chinese counterpart in the form of other segments such as currency, agriculture, and e-commerce sectors.
CNN reported more details about the pipeline called "Power of Siberia." Running for over 5,000 miles of 8,100 kilometers, the natural gas route will be operated by state-owned firm Gazprom.
News agency TASS said Putin confirmed that natural gas has started flowing from the link to supply natural gas to China but the volume is still small at this point. More will be pumped up in the coming years.
Economists noted that the project, which is estimated to have cost around $400 billion, is will only forge stronger ties between the two nations, especially at a crucial time in global trade relations.
