USA TODAY: China and Russia signed off on a huge gas deal worth as much as $400 billion Wednesday that heralds a pivot east for Russian business amid ongoing tensions with the West over Ukraine, though few details of the deal were made public.
The 30-year gas-export contract, seen as a move by Russian President Vladimir Putin to aggressively shift the country’s commercial interests east amid mounting sanctions from the United States and Europe, was signed as the Russian leader has enjoyed a warm welcome in China, where the two countries have inked a raft of agreements during his ongoing, two-day visit…
The eleventh-hour deal represents “good news for both countries,” said Shi Yinhong, an international relations expert at People’s University of China, in Beijing. “The political requirements on both sides are so powerful they can overcome the concerns on price,” he said. “This is a political action by both sides.” … (more)
