Igor Sechin: “China is working to unite humanity, and the West is working to split it”

The plenary session began with a greeting from Russian President Vladimir Putin presented by Igor Sechin. The head of state noted that despite the complexity of the international situation, relations between the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China continue to develop in an upward direction. At the same time, energy remains one of the key and most dynamic areas of economic cooperation between the two countries.

“The most important activity of the forum is the creation of the Investment Atlas of Russian-Chinese Energy Cooperation. The development of this unique information and analytical platform undoubtedly opens up new opportunities for the implementation of mutually beneficial commercial initiatives,” Putin said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping also sent a greeting to the participants of the Forum, in which he called energy the cornerstone of cooperation between China and Russia. He stressed that Beijing intends to build a closer partnership with Moscow in the energy sector. “The energy cooperation between China and Russia is the cornerstone of practical cooperation between the two countries, and also serves as an effective force in protecting global energy security,” Xi Jinping’s message read out by Han Zheng, First Vice Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China.

“In the face of external risks and challenges, Russia and China are strengthening interaction and coordination, promoting major cooperation projects, demonstrating the high stability of Russian-Chinese energy cooperation,” the head of China said.

After the welcoming speeches of the first persons of the states, the head of Rosneft, Igor Sechin, made his own report. In it, he outlined the main vectors of cooperation between the countries and the principles of their interaction in the energy sector.

“China is entering a period of development when there are strategic opportunities, risks and challenges at the same time, uncertain and difficult to predict factors appear – the so-called “black swans” or “gray rhinos”. Non-competitive pressure, sanctions, a radical breakdown of the existing world order, unprecedented volatility – all this leads to a “development deficit, governance deficit and security deficit.” It should be noted that the fundamental assessments of the processes taking place in the world today are the same among our leaders. China is simply telling the world, “we are all in the same boat.” And it turns out that the PRC is working to unify humanity, and the West is working to split it,” Sechin began his report.

The head of Rosneft said that commercial discrimination against China is becoming more and more obvious. The goal has been openly set to stop the technological development of the PRC and prevent it from becoming the No. 1 technological power.

“If we talk about the economy, this is, firstly, resource security. And, secondly, it is the restoration of forcibly destroyed industrial technological chains. An attempt to oust China from key areas of global cooperation could cost the entire world economy dearly, hitting the very initiators of these processes like a boomerang,” Sechin said.

The head of Rosneft drew attention to the unique opportunities that cooperation opens up in terms of ensuring the economic security of China and Russia in sensitive areas. Russia is a reliable supplier with a huge, expandable potential. With regard to production and technological logistics: our partnership seems to be the most secure.

This thesis is also confirmed by the numbers: at the end of 2021, China took first place in the list of Russia’s trading partners. Already in the first 10 months of this year, the trade turnover of the countries reached $153.9 billion, having increased by 33% year on year. The development of trade and the increase in trade turnover also led to a significant increase in the volume of settlements in national currencies.

“I consider it important to develop clearing settlements between China and Russia, which could then be joined by other interested countries – members of the EAEU, SCO, BRICS. The presence of an independent settlement system is an important component of financial sovereignty in the modern world,” the speaker said.

At this stage, Russian energy companies are ready to submit proposals to Chinese partners in all key areas of such a vertical partnership – in coal, gas, oil, electricity, nuclear energy. It should be noted that Rosneft remains the main Russian oil supplier to China, providing 7% of the total demand of the Chinese market for raw materials.

“In the future, the Chinese gas market will show the highest growth rates in the world. It is expected that by 2040 gas consumption in China will almost double and exceed 660 billion cubic meters. meters per year (currently – 380 billion cubic meters per year),” Sechin said.

According to Sechin, an increase in supplies of Russian liquefied natural gas to China is no less promising. In addition, Russia is expanding opportunities for exporting coal to the East and is investing heavily in the Eastern range of railways – BAM and Trans-Siberian.

“Energy has become the base industry for the growth of trade between the two countries, which by the end of 2022 will reach $180-190 billion. Considering the pace and scale of cooperation, we can confidently assume that the implementation of new energy projects will make it possible to reach a turnover of 200 billion ahead of schedule,” sums up Rustam Tankaev, General Director of InfoTEK Terminal.

The head of Rosneft recalled that the largest investment project in the world and the largest in Russia is the Vostok Oil project in the north of the Krasnoyarsk Territory.

“The Vostok Oil project will provide long-term reliable and guaranteed energy supplies to the growing economies of Asia and reduce price volatility by preventing sharp price fluctuations that destroy market stability and harm all its participants,” said the Executive Secretary of the Presidential Commission on the Fuel and Energy Complex.

The largest infrastructure project of world importance, of which China is a participant, is, of course, the development of the Northern Sea Route and its transformation into one of the world’s main transport arteries. The trend towards an increase in cargo traffic along the NSR has been observed for more than a year.

At the end of the report, Sechin emphasized that against the backdrop of the radical changes taking place in the world, the desire of Russia and China for a mutually beneficial partnership remains unchanged, which, as President Xi Jinping rightly noted, creates new opportunities for development in the name of forming a community with a common destiny for mankind.

“Sechin is perhaps the only Russian influential politician to whom we owe the current unprecedented level of relations with China. For more than a decade he has been defending the strategic decision to turn to the East, arguing that this is the result of internal development and understanding of the processes taking place in the world, and not a consequence of pressure from the West,” commented Leonid Krutakov, associate professor at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation.

The head of the State Duma Committee on Economic Policy of the Russian Federation, Mikhail Delyagin, recalled that economic cooperation between Russia and China is carried out in many areas, but the main one is the energy sector.

“China has been fruitfully developing cooperation with Russia in the field of energy for many years with the help of such a universal platform as the Russian-Chinese Energy Business Forum, which is coordinated from the Russian side by the Commission on the Fuel and Energy Complex under the President of the Russian Federation. Commission Secretary Igor Sechin led the energy dialogue between the two countries for many years. The importance of his role in strengthening cooperation between the Russian Federation and the PRC is evidenced by the fact that he was awarded the title “Friend of the Chinese people,” summed up Delyagin.