Reshaping Russia and China’s energy alliance

In the pipeline

On January 1, a pipeline began pumping oil from Skovorodino in Siberia, Russia to Daqing in northern China. It was a significant moment in the energy partnership between Russia and China, the roots of which arguably began in the 1980s and has continued apace over the past few years with a stream of announcements over various agreements to work together in oil, gas and nuclear power.

Russia dislodged Saudi Arabia in 2009 to become the world's largest oil producer and is currently the world's