Who: Vladimir Putin and a delegation of 160 people, including bureaucrats and business leaders
Meeting: Hu Jintao, Wen Jiebao, Wu Bangguo, as well as Xi jingping and Li Kechang, the two men likely to take over as China’s premier and prime minister in 2012
Where: Beijing
When: October 12-14
Agenda: Bilateral cooperation, mutual investment, and long term implementation of gas trade.

‘Those who sell always want to sell at a higher price, while those who buy want to buy at a lower price…We need to reach a compromise that will satisfy both sides.”

 Vladimir Putin states the obvious during a joint press conference with Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiebao on Tuesday, in reference to ongoing Sino-Russian negotiations on Russian natural gas exports to China. He also held talks with Premier Hu Jintao. Despite China’s growing need for energy, Russia’s reliance on its gas exports, and the proximity of the two nations, the construction of a pipeline between the two countries has been delayed due to price disputes. Both sides have spoken about increasing trade and fostering closer relations as a result of the visit, though the deliberate vagueness of the above quote could indicate continuing frustration over the gas negotiations. The long awaited gas contract between China and Russia will not be signed this visit.

Source: Bloomberg, picture courtesy of Xinhua)

68 billion – the annual volume of natural gas, in Cubic metres, that Russia expects to ship to China from 2015. This would amount to 60% of China’s 2010 consumption, according to BP Plc’s Statistical Review of World Energy. In June this year, China’s overall energy use surpassed that of the US, making it the world’s biggest energy consumer. China’s energy use makes up 20.3% of the world’s total.

Source: Bloomberg and BP.

Photo courtesy of the Moscow Times.