Russia to keep gas prices for China extremely low until at least 2029, Bloomberg reports
Photo: China to receive Russian gas at nearly half the price paid by the EU (Getty Images)
Russia expects that natural gas exports to China will remain significantly cheaper than supplies to European and Turkish markets at least through 2029, according to Bloomberg.
According to the agency’s sources and Russia’s official energy forecasts, the price gap between the price for China and other buyers will remain substantial. Estimates show that gas for Beijing will cost 27–38% less than for consumers in Europe.
In some scenarios, analysts point to an even wider gap: gas costs to China could be nearly half of Europe’s market prices.
Experts link the forced discounts to the redirection of Russian exports toward Asia. After launching its full-scale war against Ukraine and facing sanctions, Russia lost access to much of the profitable European market.
Despite increasing volumes of supplies to China, they cannot fully offset the losses from the breakdown of ties with Europe. This applies both to physical gas volumes and to the overall profitability of Russia’s energy exports.
EU moves away from Russian gas
The EU Council has backed, by majority vote, the launch of the RePowerEU mechanism, which envisions a gradual and complete phase-out of Russian fossil fuels. Hungary and Slovakia opposed the decision.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said Budapest does not support restrictions on Russian oil supplies, arguing such measures could threaten the country’s energy security.
Given that Hungary and Slovakia have regularly blocked new restrictions on Russia, the European Commission is proposing to change the decision-making process on sanctions. Instead of unanimous approval, it wants to introduce majority voting among EU member states.
Meanwhile, the United States has said it is ready to quickly replace all Russian gas and oil supplied to Europe with its own energy resources if needed.
