Sino-Russian Cooperation in the Field of Natural Gas Trade in the Context of Western Sanctions

Abstract

Since 2014, Russian energy companies have faced challenges due to sanctions imposed by Western coun-tries. However, after the outbreak of the Russian military intervention in Ukraine in 2022, sanctions took on an avalanche-like nature, posing a serious threat to the development of the Russian energy sector. This forced Russia to reorient its export flows of hydrocarbons, especially natural gas. Sanctions in the energy sector had a significant impact not only on Russia’s energy industry but also on the global market for energy resources. They led to a reconsideration of the trading strategy for energy resources between Russia and China. This article highlights and characterizes the challenges posed by anti-Russian sanctions to the cooperation between Rus-sia and China in the supply of Russian gas after the start of the Russian military intervention in Ukraine in Feb-ruary 2022.