Michael Ratner, Michael D. Sutherland, and Cory Welt
The Russian Federation (Russia) is a major energy exporter, while the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is the world’s leading consumer and importer of energy. Expanding China’s access to Russian natural gas has become an important priority in Russia-PRC relations as China’s need for energy grows and Russia looks to diversify export markets in response to Western sanctions. Unlike oil supplies, which the global market reallocates quickly, natural gas is mainly consumed in the country or region where it is produced because most gas is transported by pipeline. However, increasing volumes of natural gas are being liquefied and moved by ships to foreign markets, which provides greater flexibility. Russian natural gas used to be primarily exported to Europe, but since Russia’s initial invasion of Ukraine in 2014, increasing amounts of Russian natural gas have gone to China, both as liquefied natural gas (LNG) and via new pipeline infrastructure.
Especially since 2022, when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the executive branch and Congress have sought to monitor and respond to Russia and China’s deepening military and economic relationship (see, for example, §§1273 and 5143, respectively, of the FY2026 National Defense Authorization Act and Department of State Authorization Act; P.L. 119-60, Divisions A and E). The United States and the European Union (EU) have also sought to slow down the development of Russia’s natural gas sector, including Russian exports to China, through the imposition of sanctions. Some Members of the 119th Congress have introduced legislation that would, among other measures, expand U.S. sanctions on Russia’s global natural gas trade (S. 1241/H.R. 2548, S. 2904, S. 3513, H.R. 6856).
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