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Chinese vice premier highlights importance of energy cooperation with Russia

Ding Xuexiang noted that work was underway on major projects as the two countries kept expanding areas of cooperation

Russian Energy Minister Sergey Tsivilyov and Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang Ivan Kargapoltsev/TASS

Russian Energy Minister Sergey Tsivilyov and Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang

© Ivan Kargapoltsev/TASS

BEIJING, April 18. /TASS/. Chinese-Russian energy cooperation is a positive factor in terms of ensuring global energy security, Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang said at a meeting with Russian Energy Minister Sergey Tsivilyov.

"Energy cooperation between China and Russia provides an important basis for the two countries' practical interaction, and it is also a positive force for ensuring global energy security. In recent years, Chinese-Russian energy trade has accounted for more than a third of total trade," Ding pointed out.

He noted that work was underway on major projects as the two countries kept expanding areas of cooperation, boosting comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation between Beijing and Moscow.

According to the vice premier, China and Russia are good neighbors who support each other in hard times and work together. "Under the strategic leadership of [Chinese] President Xi Jinping and [Russian] President Vladimir Putin, Chinese-Russian relations continue to develop, becoming increasingly mature, stable and sustainable," Ding emphasized.

Tsivilyov is currently on a working visit to China. The Russian Energy Ministry said on Thursday that Russian and Chinese officials had held talks in Beijing on the prospects for expanding Russian energy supplies to China. The parties are also considering the possibility of implementing joint projects in the field of liquified natural gas. These issues were discussed at the Russian energy minister’s meeting with Wang Hongzhi, head of China’s National Energy Administration. Besides, the consultations also addressed cooperation in the coal industry. In particular, the parties touched upon ways to create favorable conditions for Russian exports to China.

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