Putin promised to give the Chinese leader all Russian LNG as a reward for "friendship"

Russia is ready to increase the supply of natural resources to China, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin said after a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the Kremlin.

Source: Interfax

The talks, which were the first face-to-face meeting between Putin and Xi since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine, were "successful" and "held in a warm and friendly atmosphere," according to the Russian dictator.

According to Putin, Russia intends to ensure "uninterrupted oil supplies" to China and will also sharply increase gas exports.

In 2022, Gazprom was supposed to pump 15 billion cubic meters to China through the Power of Siberia pipeline, and by 2024 its capacity is expected to reach the planned 38 billion cubic meters per year.

"The total volume of gas supplies by 2030 will be at least 98 billion cubic meters, plus 100 million tons of LNG," Putin said.

The volume mentioned by Putin is all the gas that Russia is supposed to produce by 2030, Interfax notes. Currently, LNG production is three times less and amounted to 32.3 million tons in 2022.

"Russian business is able to meet the growing demand from the Chinese economy for energy both within the framework of current projects and those that are currently being agreed upon," Putin said.

One such project is the Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline through Mongolia with a capacity of 50 billion cubic meters per year. This project has been under discussion for more than 7 years.

Also, "there are opportunities to significantly increase exports of meat, grain and other categories of goods to China," Putin said.

Russia gives China natural resources in exchange for support, a source close to the Kremlin told the Financial Times.

Last year, Russia increased its oil exports to China by almost 10%, coal by 21%, and gas by 1.5 times, becoming its largest supplier for the first time. In response, China sent $4.8 billion worth of electronics and machinery to Russia, replacing Western companies.

Background. During their joint speech, Xi Jinping and Putin called on the West and Kyiv to "stop actions that prolong the war in Ukraine" and signed a declaration of economic cooperation.