Reuters/Kim Kyung Hoon
- Russia expects to sell gas to China at almost half the price compared to European buyers, Bloomberg reported.
- Gas for China will average $271.6 per 1,000 cubic meters in 2024, versus $481.7 for buyers in Europe and Turkey.
- The move marks the latest sign that Russia and China's economic ties are still deepening.
A new economic outlook revealed that Russia expects to sell gas to China at a steeply discounted rate over the next three years, far below the price European buyers will pay, according to a Bloomberg report.
The report, citing an outlook through 2026 from Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, showed that Moscow will sell pipeline natural gas to China at an average price of $271.6 per 1,000 cubic meters next year.
Buyers in Europe and Turkey, on the other hand, will face an average price of $481.7.
Those prices should remain through 2026, with gradual reductions over time, per Bloomberg.
This year, meanwhile, Russia expects to sell gas to China at an average of $297.3 per 1,000 cubic meters, while the remaining clients in Europe and Turkey will pay an average of $500.6.
Meanwhile, Moscow anticipates state-run energy giant Gazprom to supply natural gas to China on a $400 billion contract, via the Power of Siberia connection.
Russia and China's economic ties have deepened since last February, when Vladimir Putin ordered the "special military operation" in Ukraine.
Because Russia's standing on the global economic order has weakened significantly, it has become increasingly reliant on China for trade.
Thousands of companies have left the country, it's navigating historic economic sanctions, and most of its Western trade partners have turned elsewhere — leaving China with the upper hand.
"Clearly Russia is much more dependent on China to provide it with the imports and advanced manufactured products it needs, while Russian markets represent a negligible secondary opportunity for Chinese businesses," Yale researcher Jeffrey Sonnenfeld told Insider in a July interview.