Russia and China leave Beijing summit without the Power of Siberia 2 deal Gazprom wanted

Russia and China leave Beijing summit without the Power of Siberia 2 deal Gazprom wanted Putin and Xi signed a joint statement attacking US policy but again failed to settle pricing on the pipeline that would replace lost European gas demand. Vladimir Putin left Beijing on Wednesday (2026-05-20) with a signed joint statement on bilateral cooperation but without the one thing Gazprom needed: a binding deal on the Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline.^4,2 That matters because the pipeline is Russia's main route out of its post-2022 gas problem. Europe was Gazprom's premium market, and pipeline flows there have collapsed since the invasion of Ukraine. Power of Siberia 2 is meant to redirect that volume east, but for the second high-profile summit running, the gas deal has not closed.² The sticking point is price. Key issues such as gas pricing remain unresolved, and analysts expect negotiations could take years, the Economic Times reported.² This is not a new impasse. During Putin's previous visit in September 2025, Gazprom said both sides had agreed to move forward with the project, yet a firm contract never materialised.² What did happen was political theatre. Putin landed on Tuesday (2026-05-19) evening to an honour guard and flag-waving welcome, four days after Donald Trump had left the same city.³ On Wednesday (2026-05-20) he said he had held "substantive" talks with Beijing, and the two leaders signed a statement aimed at deepening cooperation.⁴ The statement itself read as a rebuke of Washington. China and Russia condemned Trump's Golden Dome missile defence plans and what they called Washington's "irresponsible" nuclear policy, according to a Reuters report carried by AOL.¹ The framing underlined that while Xi seeks stable relations with Trump, he differs fundamentally with him on issues where Beijing's position aligns with Moscow's.² For traders, the oil numbers were the more concrete takeaway. Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said Moscow's oil exports to China grew by 35% in the first quarter of 2026, and described Russia as one of the biggest natural gas exporters to China.⁴ Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said China was interested in long-term Russian crude supplies and rising volumes, which he put up 10% over four months.² So crude keeps flowing while gas stalls. That split is the real signal. Oil is fungible, ships anywhere, and China is happy to buy discounted Russian barrels. Gas piped through Power of Siberia 2 is a multi-decade, fixed-route commitment, and Beijing has little reason to lock in volumes at prices Moscow likes when it holds most of the leverage.^2,4 The optics of the week reinforced that imbalance. Hosting two of the most powerful leaders in the world within days, William Yang of the International Crisis Group said, showed China's growing confidence in its standing.³ Confidence, in a pipeline negotiation, translates directly into pricing power. The buyer who can wait sets the terms. For European gas, the read-through is indirect but real. As long as Power of Siberia 2 stays unbuilt, the volumes that once went to Europe have no committed eastern home, which keeps a wedge of Russian production stranded rather than redirected. That does nothing to loosen global LNG balances that TTF still depends on, and it leaves Gazprom without the demand anchor it has chased since 2022.² The contrast with the September 2025 visit is the thing to watch. Then, the language was about agreeing to move forward; now, after another summit, pricing is still open and the timeline is measured in years.² Each round of warm statements without a signed offtake contract tells you more about who needs the deal than any communique does. What to watch next is narrow and specific. Any Gazprom or Chinese announcement that names a price formula, a volume commitment, or a construction start date on Power of Siberia 2 would mark a genuine shift.² Until then, the trade is the same one the data already shows: Russian crude into China rising, Russian pipeline gas to Asia still a promise. The summit produced a handshake on geopolitics and an IOU on gas.