Mongolia still expects new Russia-China gas pipeline to go ahead

Mongolia still expects the Power of Siberia 2 project – a major new gas pipeline connecting Russia and China – to go ahead despite a turbulent geopolitical situation that could lead to a realignment in relations between Beijing, Moscow and Washington.

The pipeline, if completed, would divert 50 billion cubic metres (1.8 trillion cubic feet) of Russian natural gas per year that previously supplied Europe to China via Mongolia.

But speculation has been growing in recent months that progress on the project has stalled, with analysts arguing that China is reluctant to increase its dependence on Russian energy imports.

Power of Siberia 2 was omitted from the Mongolian government’s 2024-28 work programme, and Chinese and Russian officials have provided few recent updates on the project.

Yet, Mongolia’s first deputy prime minister, Gantumur Luvsannyam, insisted that negotiations over the pipeline were proceeding and that the talks were making progress.

“The reason why it’s not included in the action programme of the government of Mongolia is because it is an issue that cannot be decided one-sidedly by [the Mongolian cabinet],” Luvsannyam, who also serves as Mongolia’s minister of economy, told the Post in an interview.