China, Russia ink big energy deals

Beijing and Moscow netted another two giant energy agreements on Sunday, including one to help start early construction of the west route of the China-Russia natural gas pipeline.

The pipeline is expected to be completed in 2020 and will provide 30 billion cubic meters of natural gas a year to China through the Altai area of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, sources told China Daily.

President Xi Jinping and his visiting Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, witnessed the signing of 16 agreements on Sunday night, the bulk of them in the energy sector.