High-stakes energy diplomacy in Beijing this week signals China's willingness to challenge US President Donald Trump's efforts to isolate Russia and assert US energy dominance.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, sitting alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin, used this week's military parade commemorating the 80th anniversary of Japan's defeat in World War II to demonstrate Beijing's military and diplomatic clout amid escalating trade tensions with Washington.

China backed up the parade with action on Tuesday, when Russian gas giant Gazprom announced that both sides had signed a legally binding memorandum of understanding with Moscow for the construction of Power of Siberia 2, a 2,600-km (1,615-mile) gas pipeline that would connect the two countries. The project has struggled to get off the ground after more than a decade of fruitless negotiations.

China will also increase the already substantial volume of gas it imports through the existing Power of Siberia pipeline. Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said on Tuesday that the two countries had agreed to increase supplies through the pipeline to 44 billion cubic meters per year from 38 billion cubic meters per year.

In addition, both sides agreed to increase the volume of Russian gas shipments to China via the pipeline from Sakhalin Island in the Russian Far East by 20% to 12 billion cubic meters per year.

Overall, this is another indication of the increasingly close relationship between Beijing and Moscow, but more importantly, it signals that China does not plan to back down in the face of US pressure. (alg)

Source: Reuters