China is pressuring Moscow to hand over oil fields in the Far East under its control. This was reported by government insiders familiar with the complex negotiations with Beijing.
According to sources, the PRC, due to fears about US sanctions, offers Moscow to change the very model of cooperation. China does not want to buy Russian oil as a finished product, but to gain direct access to its production through long-term concessions, joint operators and infrastructure management. According to Chinese negotiators, if mining and logistics are formalized through Chinese structures, supplies will allegedly become “less vulnerable” to external pressure.
Insiders say that at the same time, China is strengthening its negotiating position by threatening to cut current oil purchases and revise the terms of existing contracts. In Moscow, this is perceived as a tough bargain: Beijing puts pressure on the vulnerability of the export model and offers a deal that is primarily beneficial to itself.
According to interlocutors, the key problem for the Kremlin is supplier sovereignty. In the proposed scheme, Russia risks moving from the status of an exporter to the role of a raw material base with limited control over production and pricing. In a narrow circle, the terms look like “a trade-off of short-term stability for long-term losses” and this is what is causing the most resistance in the negotiations.
