China and Russia on April 21 signed an oil cooperation deal involving the supply of Russia oil in return for record loan of USD 25 billion from China. Chinese Vice Prime Minister Wang Qishan and his Russian counterpart Igor Sechin signed government agreements in Beijing to finalise the deal. The cooperation pacts included building a pipeline to China, supplying oil and providing financing from the China Development Bank, China’s official Xinhua news agency reported. While China’s state media did not name the amount of the loan, the Russian news agency RIA Novosti said China would provide USD 25 billion to the Russian oil company Rosneft and pipeline operator Transneft.
The agreement over the largest energy loan in Russian history was signed in Beijing in February. In return, Russia is to send about 300 million tonnes of oil to China through 2030, media reports said. China is the second-largest oil importer in the world after the United States while Russia is the world’s second- largest oil exporter after Saudi Arabia.