Posted on 05/23/2014 6:49:43 AM PDT by xzins
In Shanghai, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping signed a spectacular energy deal — $400 billion of Siberian natural gas to be exported to China over 30 years.
This is huge. By indelibly linking producer and consumer — the pipeline alone is a $70 billion infrastructure project — it deflates the post-Ukraine Western threat (mostly empty, but still very loud) to cut European imports of Russian gas. Putin has just defiantly demonstrated that he has other places to go.
The Russia-China deal also makes a mockery of U.S. boasts to have isolated Russia because of Ukraine. Not even Germany wants to risk a serious rupture with Russia (hence the absence of significant sanctions). And now Putin has just ostentatiously unveiled a signal 30-year energy partnership with the world’s second-largest economy. Some isolation.
The contrast with President Obama’s own vaunted pivot to Asia is embarrassing (to say nothing of the Keystone pipeline with Canada). He went to Japan last month also seeking a major trade agreement that would symbolize and cement a pivotal strategic alliance. He came home empty-handed.
Does the Obama foreign policy team even understand what is happening? For them, the Russia-China alliance is simply more retrograde, 19th-century, balance-of-power maneuvering by men of the past oblivious to the reality of a 21st century governed by law and norms. A place where, for example, one simply doesn’t annex a neighbor’s territory. Indeed, Obama scolds Russia and China for not living up to their obligations as major stakeholders in this new interdependent world.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
As predicted by many freepers who looked at the natural gas lines of Russia going both east and west, Russia turned to China and proved once again that sanctions are a ridiculously ineffective tool against any nation that isn’t landlocked and surrounded by enemies (serbia).
On top of everything else, this administration's foreign policy debacles are going to cost us big.
I doubt this will last. Russia and China have always had a love-hate relationship, and there are several reasons for this.
1) Russians are a nationally a bit bipolar. They want to be thought of as Europeans, but as soon as they behave like Europeans they continually fantasize about their Asian half. And vice versa. Too much Asian and they fantasize about Europe. N.B.: the saying is that when a Russian behaves like and Asian, you can believe him; when he behaves like a European, he is lying.
2) For the better part of 1000+ years, China has been periodically invaded at about 200 year intervals, mostly from the North, and they were sometimes conquered. So they are always nervous about relations with the North. And it’s a prime reason for them to cling to Tibet, and to want to grab Mongolia. As buffers.
3) China’s industrialism is burning itself out, because they have no self control and assume that too much is not enough. Their pollution is out of control, and their response is to make more of it. Sure, they might get a huge new supply of fuel out of this, but it will just make things worse.
I agree. No way it’ll be in dollars. I would bet on yuan if I had to, but I think it’ll be in some kind of barter credits. Putin will want to emphasize that not only doesn’t he need Europe for a customer, but he also doesn’t need them as a provider.
Wasn’t it 1984 that had 3 world powers that regularly flip-flopped in their alignments?
Nah. Our stupid detente however shaped China to be far less independent than a Israel that the Soviets felt truly betrayed by. China is in Russia’s pocket because the NWO police imperial hoax is making us more dependent on “good behaviors”
Maybe Obama needs more hashtags?
Siberian natural gas will help with China’s pollution problem, since it will burn less coal.
As the dollar is eliminated as the world’s reserve currency, our collapse will accelerate. All part of the Obamanation’s plan, I’m sure.
#BringBackOurHegemony
Actually yes.
This one deal is going to do more to limit co2 emissions than anything “carbon trading” or so far proposed government policy would ever do.
Just like the biggest single limiting measure on co2 to date, other than the economic depression, has been US fracking.
Every day Barry is in office the United States is damaged a little more.
Some days the damage is greater than others.
Russia, China sign deal to bypass U.S. dollar
“In a symbolic blow to U.S. global financial hegemony, Russia and China took a small step toward undercutting the domination of the U.S. dollar as the international reserve currency on Tuesday when Russia’s second biggest financial institution, VTB, signed a deal with the Bank of China to bypass the dollar and pay each other in domestic currencies.
The so-called Agreement on Cooperation — signed in the presence of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is on a visit to Shanghai — was followed by the long-awaited announcement on Wednesday of a massive natural gas deal 10 years in the making.
“Our countries have done a huge job to reach a new historic landmark,” Putin said on Tuesday, making note of the $100 billion in annual trade that has been achieved between the two countries.”
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/5/20/russia-china-bankdeal.html
This is one instance in which I’d be really inclined to smack a tariff on both countries for access to the US market. There isn’t a single thing China gives us that we can’t find another source for. And their cheap cheap goods are better replaced with more expensive quality goods.
Russia’s Blockbuster Gas Deal Makes It Look Weak
http://time.com/109161/china-russia-gas-deal/
$13 billion in additional annual export revenues for Russia–less than a quarter of what they typically export to Europe. Selling to China isn’t going to mean that sanctions won’t hurt. Europe remains Russia’s most important energy market.
...The Chinese got a bargain in terms of gas price–they are apparently paying $350 per thousand cubic meters, $50 bucks less per unit than the Russians had wanted, and $20 bucks less than what the Europeans currently pay.
...The Russians are also picking up the bulk of the infrastructure development required for the deal (the Chinese are only committing to $20 billion in spending so far, while the project will require at least $55 billion).
I think it makes Russia look smart. They were threatened and they moved to an alternate plan that made up any loss of exports to Europe, and if Europe doesn’t go forward with any sanctions, then Russia has all of their old customers plus some new ones.
I fail to see the downside for Russia in this.
They’ve been trying to make this deal for more than a decade.
They have to spend 10s of billions over a few years before they can sell their product for a discount.
Europe does have a problem, as do the Baltic Nations with their dependency on Russia's oil. Putin could have cut any of them off for their supporting the US involvement in Ukraine, and attempts to isolate Russia from Europe. ...However, it's apparent all that the EU has actually done is speak out....Putin therefore has continued just as he said from the beginning..."Business as Ususal".....
Further at the Economic Summit in Russia only about 15% refused to show up. So it's moving along well despite the no shows, who ultimately will miss out. Russia said..if they show..good if not...business moves forward as usual...and it certainly is doing just that after listening to those who are attending there. So much of what the Obama Administration attempts toward Russia continues to backfire......and simply cuases us further debt.
I think this makes the entire concept of sanctions look foolish. So, it’s the Obama Admin that takes the hit.
I don’t believe the Russians agreed to an all-time static price. I’m sure it has provisions for inflation, change in the market, etc.
And in the end, any pipeline on their land is their pipeline.
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