The impact of falling oil prices on China-Russia energy relations

After a decade of discussions, China and Russia finally signed a $400 billion, 30 year gas deal in May 2014. But it was only a month later that world oil prices began a steady descent, reshaping China’s outlook towards energy security, and its viewpoint towards energy relations with Russia in the process.

In a new DIIS policy brief, Michal Meidan, associate fellow at Chatham House, argues that China’s changing energy profile and the availability of alternative supplies of oil and gas at declining prices mean that Beijing will not want to lock itself into Russia’s embrace. The fall in international prices has been a boon for China. Energy producers are competing for market share in the world’s largest oil consumer and rising gas giant, allowing Beijing to diversify its import sources and increase its strategic reserves.