Natural gas fuels warmth in Sino-Russian relations

Through a video link-up, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin inaugurated the China-Russia east route natural gas pipeline on Monday.

The pipeline, which Putin called "the world's biggest construction project", extends more than 5,000 kilometers inside China and about 3,000 km in Russia. Overcoming extreme environmental and geological conditions, it adds a new tangible economic bond to the already close bilateral ties.

Xi said the project serves as a model of cooperation and that "the development of Sino-Russian ties is and will be a foreign policy priority for both our nations".