President Putin watching the ceremony for the launch of Power of Siberia 1
Beijing remains uncommitted on Power of Siberia 2 plans
Russia’s pivot to the east is encountering barriers among the Central Asian republics and due to China’s reluctance to become too dependent on Russian gas
China’s continued ambivalence over the high-profile Power of Siberia 2 (PoS 2) gas pipeline is prompting Russia to consider new options for supplying China that involve Central Asia. The strategy could see Russia expand its presence in Central Asia at a time when both Moscow and Beijing are competing for influence in the energy-rich region. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s latest visit to Beijing in mid-May failed once again to energise protracted negotiations over PoS 2, a new pipeline that would pump 50bcm/yr to northern China via Mongolia. Gazprom and China’s state-controlled CNPC have been in painstaking talks over the project, but in a sign that little progress was expected from the t
Also in this section
13 March 2026
Brussels is again weighing a cap on gas prices amid the Hormuz crisis, but the measure could backfire by deterring the LNG cargoes Europe urgently needs
12 March 2026
Emergency oil stocks provide a last line of defence to oil market shocks, so the IEA’s unprecedented 400m bl release represents something of a double-edged sword
12 March 2026
LPG could rapidly expand access to clean cooking across Africa and prevent hundreds of thousands of deaths from indoor air pollution each year, but infrastructure shortages and regulatory barriers are slowing investment and market growth
11 March 2026
Missiles over Dubai and disruption in Hormuz are testing the emirate’s reputation—and shaking the energy hub at the centre of the Gulf economy
