Putin Offered China A 30 Percent Discount On Gas By The End Of The Decade
- 22.04.2026, 21:04
Beijing remained Gazprom's last major customer after losing the European market.
The Kremlin intends to continue the practice of double-digit gas discounts for China, which has remained Gazprom's last major customer in the far abroad after losing the European market.
This year, gas that China buys through the Power of Siberia pipeline will cost 39 percent less than supplies to European countries and Turkey, according to Bloomberg citing sources familiar with non-public government documents.
For each cubic meter of gas from Russia, China will pay $258 versus $420 in contracts from Hungary and Gazprom's Turkish customers. In 2027, the price for China drops to $223.9 per thousand cubic meters, and the discount will be $113, or about 33%.
The close thirds price discount will remain in place until the late 2020s, according to government materials. In 2028, China will buy gas at $229.7 per thousand cubic meters - 30% cheaper than other Gazprom customers in the far abroad ($327.4), and in 2029 - at $235.6, 27% lower than the price for Europe and Turkey.
Last year, China bought 38 billion cubic meters of gas from Gazprom - almost half of the company's exports, which have been hovering near lows since the late 1980s (about 78 billion cubic meters, according to BCS estimates). Exports to the European market have plummeted to 18 billion cubic meters, the lowest since 1973, when the USSR's first gas contracts with Austria and Italy began working.
By 2029, Russia expects to increase supplies to the Chinese market to 52.5 billion cubic meters - that is, by a third from current levels, sources told Bloomberg. The Kremlin is hoping for new deals between Gazprom and China's CNPC, an increase in the capacity of the existing Power of Siberia pipe, and a new Far Eastern route.
The Power of Siberia-2 pipeline, announced by Vladimir Putin and Gazprom chief Alexei Miller last September, will not be operational before the end of the decade, according to government forecasts. The pipe is to have a capacity of 50 billion cubic meters, which would more than double supplies to China.
Putin said during a visit to China in September that agreements had been reached with Beijing on the second branch of Power of Siberia. "Finally, the negotiating parties have found a consensus," Putin boasted, adding that gas exports to the Chinese market would eventually reach 100 billion cubic meters. The statements by Gazprom and the Russian president, however, were not confirmed by Xi Jinping, the Chinese media, or CNPC, Gazprom's gas buyer.