The construction site of China-Russia east-route natural gas pipeline in Heihe, Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province File photo: VCG

Construction work started on the middle section of a major China-Russia energy cooperation project on Thursday. Starting from Northeast China's Jilin Province and ending in North China's Hebei Province, the section is expected to alleviate natural gas shortages in Northeast China and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, China Central Television (CCTV) reported.

The 1,110-kilometer section is expected to be completed in October 2020, said the report.

"China and Russia enjoy a stable relationship, and they have been comprehensive strategic partners of coordination in various spheres," Lin Boqiang, dean of the China Institute for Studies in Energy Policy at Xiamen University, told the Global Times on Thursday. 

The huge pipeline project is intended to stabilize China's energy supply through cooperation with a stable partner, Lin said, especially as China's demand for natural gas still has huge growth potential.

"Stable and sufficient supply will lower the price and further promote the use of clean energy in China," Lin said.

Leaders of both countries pledged to expand energy cooperation and improve the business environment for energy-sector cooperation at a bilateral energy business forum in St. Petersburg, Russia, reported the Xinhua News Agency on June 7.

As a world-class natural gas pipeline project, the whole China-Russia east-route natural gas pipeline is expected to bring China 38 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Russia annually, which is equivalent to one-seventh of China's gas use in 2018, according to CCTV.

The project is being financed and built jointly by China and Russia. There is a 3,371-km Chinese section, which starts from Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province and ends at Shanghai. There's also a section of nearly 4,000 km in Russia, which will link the Kovyktin and Chayandin gas fields in Siberia with the eastern port city of Vladivostok, said Xinhua.


Newspaper headline: Construction commences on new section of China-Russia pipeline