In a deal that Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao termed as one of "political importance," Russia and China have signed a $25 billion deal that will see Beijing supplied with oil from Siberian fields in exchange for loans to Russian firms.
Under the broader energy supply deal, China Development Bank will lend $15 billion to Russia's state-owned oil giant Rosneft, and $10 billion to state pipeline monopoly Transneft.
The Russian firms, badly in need of capital due to liquidity crunch and plummeting oil prices, have agreed to supply 15 million tons (300,000 barrels a day) of oil annually for 20 years in return.
A high-level delegation led by Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin was in Beijing to sign the deal with the Chinese.
Seeking diversification in oil resources, China has turned to Russia, Kazakhstan, and countries in Africa and South America.
China and Japan, two major importers of oil, are considered as key markets for Russia's East Siberian oilfields.
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May 22, 2026 14:46 ET Minutes of the latest Fed policy session was the highlight of the week along with survey data on the U.S. housing market. In Europe, survey data signaled the trends in the euro area private sector. Further, consumer price inflation data from the U.K. was in focus. In Asia, various economic indicators from China drew attention to the health of the economy.