China, Russia sign $400 billion gas deal. - Jack Lew appealed to China to avoid action that might hurt recent Western sanctions

China signed a long-awaited deal for Russian natural gas Wednesday, giving China a new energy source and Russia a diplomatic boost in the face of sanctions and condemnation for its aggressive actions in Ukraine.

Announced after meetings between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin at an Asia security conference, the 30-year deal is worth an estimated $400 billion, according to comments in Russian media by Gazprom chief executive Alexei Miller.


On a symbolic level, the deal also provided China and Russia a chance to reaffirm their strategic alliance against the United States, their shared global rival.

• U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew appealed to China to avoid action that might hurt recent Western sanctions against Russia. But China’s booming economy has brought with it a ravenously growing need for energy, especially clean alternatives given its current pollution struggles and reliance on coal.

The agreement allows Russia to diversify its gas exports just as Europe is trying to reduce its consumption of Russian gas in response to the country’s role in the Ukrainian crisis...............http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/china-russia-sign-400-billion-gas-deal/2014/05/21/364e9e74-e0de-11e3-8dcc-d6b7fede081a_story.html?wprss=rss_homepage
21/5/14
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Related:

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• Implementation of gas contract with China to begin on May 22 - President Putin...