Russia-China cooperation as an alternative for Russian energy in Europe

Abstract

With almost 20% of the world's natural gas reserves and more than 6% of the world's oil reserves, Russia's economic development is based on the production and export of hydrocarbons. This article is an excerpt from a diagnostic and analytical study of Russia's energy resources, which, with the help of pipelines, shapes the market of consumers, influencing their attitudes and behaviour in line with its interests. The series of sanctions imposed on the Russian Federation after 24 February 2022, in connection with the full-scale aggression against Ukraine, poses the question of the future of the Russian energy sector and an alternative to the hydrocarbon market there. The author reconstructed bilateral energy relations between the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation by analysing the history, current situation and making predictions about the potential future of bilateral cooperation in the light of the reduction of Russian energy presence in Europe. The article has been expanded to include an update on the state of bilateral relations in the first half of 20203