00:00Geopolitics still firmly in focus, of course, with Russian President Vladimir Putin arriving in Beijing aiming to reinforce ties with
00:07the Chinese leader Xi Jinping and make progress on a long-stalled energy project.
00:11Our chief North Asia correspondent Stephen Engel joins us now from Beijing.
00:15There's really been no pause when it comes to these diplomatic visits in Beijing and the ties that President Xi
00:22continues to build.
00:26Absolutely. They've rolled out the red carpet all year long.
00:29We had, of course, Keir Starmer here. We had Friedrich Mertz from Germany.
00:33We had the Canadian prime minister. We've had the South Korean president.
00:38We had Donald Trump last week. Now, of course, we have Vladimir Putin here really to reinforce their strategic partnership,
00:45no doubt.
00:46As, by the way, I might add, not as a side note, as the backdrop, the war in Ukraine obviously
00:52going into its fifth year.
00:54And the Russian shipments of oil and gas to Europe all but dried up because of the sanctions against Russia.
01:02So Russia simply needs China.
01:04It is a strong partnership, a strong alliance to be a counterweight to the West.
01:09But it's an uneven relationship because, again, Vladimir Putin needs to have those continued Chinese purchases of energy.
01:19And on the table is getting the power of Siberia to a gas pipeline that runs from central Russia through
01:26Mongolia through to Beijing and on to Shanghai across the finish line.
01:32China has been sort of holding out for better terms.
01:35And I think Vladimir Putin would probably tell us he thinks he has some leverage right now because of the
01:40war in Iran.
01:42And the resulting energy price shock could perhaps be that negotiating tool that Vladimir Putin could get Xi Jinping to
01:52finally sign off on the contracts for gas
01:55and the commitments, the multi-year commitments that Moscow is looking at to justify the cost of building this thing.
02:02OK, now Russia would pay for the pipeline on their side.
02:05Mongolia would simply tax the gas coming through their territory.
02:10China would then perhaps build on their side of the Mongolian border.
02:14But estimates have ranged anywhere between $13.5 billion, upwards of $30 billion.
02:20It's a lot of money if China is not going to commit to a steady supply.
02:24So that is why Vladimir Putin is here along with kind of trading notes with Xi Jinping on how the
02:31summit last week with Donald Trump went.
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