中俄年内签署西线天然气合作协议

China and Russia will seal an agreement this year on piped gas from western Siberia, China’s foreign minister said yesterday, a deal that will continue Russia’s economic shift towards Asia and away from western Europe.

中国外交部长昨天称，中国和俄罗斯将在今年签署西线天然气合作协议，该协议将继续促使俄罗斯经济向亚洲转移、远离西欧。

Russia’s split with the west over Ukraine has pushed it closer to China, which is eager to develop overland energy supply lines that reduce its dependence on vulnerable sea lanes. China has taken a carefully neutral stance on the Ukraine conflict, while more broadly expressing its support for Russia.

俄罗斯因乌克兰问题与西方国家闹翻，这促使其进一步向中国靠近，后者急于发展陆上能源供应线以降低对脆弱的海上通道的依赖。在乌克兰冲突问题上，中国一直采取谨慎中立的立场，同时在总体上表达对俄罗斯的支持。

The relationship between the two on-again, off-again Cold War allies is “mature and stable”, Wang Yi, China’s foreign minister, told a press conference yesterday. “There is enormous internal impetus and room for expansion.”

对于这两个分分合合的冷战盟友的关系，中国外交部长王毅昨天在记者会上称之为“成熟、稳定”，并表示中俄务实合作“有着巨大的内生动力和提升空间”。

Much of that expansion will be in oil, gas and nuclear energy co-operation, he added. “We will fully begin construction of the eastern gas line and sign a co-operation agreement for the western line,” he said.

他补充称，中俄大部分务实合作将在石油、天然气和核能领域展开。“将会全面开工建设东线天然气管道并签署西线天然气合作协议。”

During a visit to Beijing in November, Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, reached a preliminary agreement for Gazprom, the Kremlin-controlled energy group, to supply China’s state oil company CNPC with 30bn cubic metres of gas per year from the Altai region of western Siberia. However, most of the details are still to be worked out.

在去年11月出访北京期间，俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔•普京(Vladimir Putin)为政府控制的俄罗斯天然气工业股份公司(Gazprom)达成了一项初步协议，每年从西伯利亚西部阿尔泰地区向国有的中石油(CNPC)提供300亿立方米的天然气。然而，多数细节仍有待敲定。

Beijing expects the deal to be finalised this year, leading to a pipeline that will, for the first time, allow Russia to choose between exporting gas to Asia or to Europe. Russia has also committed to sell gas from its far east to China. In a $400bn deal signed during Mr Putin’s visit to Shanghai in May, Russia agreed to sell up to 38bn cubic metres a year to China.

北京方面预期该协议能在今年敲定，其最终带来的输气管道将使俄罗斯第一次在出口天然气至亚洲或欧洲的问题上作出选择。俄罗斯还承诺向中国出售其远东地区的天然气。在去年5月普京访问上海期间签署的4000亿美元协议中，俄罗斯同意每年向中国出售380亿立方米天然气。

Chinese and Russian leaders officially inaugurated construction of the Power of Siberia pipeline last September, but little work can be done during the harsh Siberian winter. The two sides have also disagreed over financing for the projects, with Russia strapped for cash amid sanctions imposed by the West.

去年9月，中国和俄罗斯领导人正式揭牌“西伯利亚力量”(Power of Siberia)管道的建设，但是在西伯利亚严寒的冬季期间基本上无法施工。在俄罗斯因受西方制裁而资金紧张的情况下，双方还在项目的融资问题上发生分歧。

To sweeten the deal for China, Russia has offered Chinese oil companies the chance to invest directly in its upstream. Russia’s deputy premier, Arkardy Dvorkovich, said at an investment forum last month that there are no longer political barriers to China controlling strategic assets.

为了增加协议对中国的吸引力，俄罗斯向中国石油企业提供了直接投资于上游业务的机会。俄罗斯副总理德阿克迪•沃尔科维奇(Arkady Dvorkovich)上月在一个投资论坛上称，对中国控制战略资产不再存在政治障碍。

Increased economic ties with Russia fall under the broader One Belt, One Road strategy of increasing exports and investment in Central Asia, Mr Wang said. China wants to create a new Silk Road economic belt that retraces trade networks active at the height of China’s presence in Central Asia, during the Han dynasty 2,000 years ago, as well as a 21st-century maritime Silk Road that revisits the greatest extent of its sea power during the early Ming dynasty of the 14th and 15th centuries.

王毅称，中国与俄罗斯加强经济联系，属于增加对中亚出口和投资的“一带一路”整体战略的一部分。中国希望打造全新的丝绸之路经济带，并开启21世纪的海上丝绸之路。前者可以追溯到2000年前的汉朝，当时中国在中亚的存在达到鼎盛时期，而后者则是重温14及15世纪明朝早期达到的海上活动范围巅峰。

Rising investment in Central Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia and Africa would allow China to export its surplus capacity in steel, rail and other industries, which is increasingly weighing on its domestic economy.

中国在中亚、东南亚、南亚及非洲地区增加投资，将允许其把日益拖累国内经济的钢铁、铁路及其他产业的过剩产能出口海外。

An added attraction for energy-hungry China is the creation of overland rail, road and pipe networks, which it views as more defensible than easily blockaded sea routes including the Suez Canal and the narrow Strait of Malacca.

对于渴望能源的中国而言，另一个吸引点在于打造陆上铁路、公路及管道网。相比苏伊士运河及狭窄的马六甲海峡等可以被轻易封锁的海上航道，中国把陆上路线视为更可防御。