News Analysis
China’s top leader Xi Jinping appears to be prioritizing cooperation with Central Asia for gas pipelines, having urged the accelerated construction of a fourth pipeline to the region during a meeting with heads of state from the five Central Asian countries in May.
Meanwhile, Russia has been pushing China, without success, for the construction of a new gas pipeline (PS-2) connecting Russia and northern China via Mongolia, in addition to the current PS-1 that runs from Siberia to China’s northeastern Heilongjiang Province. PS-1 has been transporting gas to China since 2019. 
In March, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Xi in Moscow for two days of talks, including about Russia’s long-proposed PS-2. Putin referred to the project as “the deal of the century.” However, the CCP’s brief official statement following the talks didn’t mention the pipeline, revealing a lack of urgency for the project on China’s part.   …