NWR: China is turning Siberia into its own resource base

Russia is increasingly dependent on China – large raw material projects in the Far East and Siberia are actually turning these regions into a resource base for Beijing. This was reported by Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine.

One example of Chinese expansion is the Zashulan coal deposit in Trans-Baikal, which is being developed by a joint venture between Russia's En+ Group ( Oleg Deripaska ) and China's Shenhua Group. Production is expected to last for a hundred years, and the Russian government has granted tax incentives to this company.

Starting in 2027, it is planned to transport about five million tons of coal to China annually, which is about 500 trucks per day. For this purpose, a new highway is being built just 200 meters from rural gardens, 1.6 kilometers from the Yamarivka mineral water source, and passes through forests where rare plant species grow.

Despite previous promises, local residents have not received jobs – key positions are held by Chinese specialists. Meanwhile, the company is actively cutting down cedar forests, and initiatives to move the highway away from the protected area are stalled by bureaucratic obstacles.

Chinese influence is also spreading to the tourism industry: routes for Chinese visitors are being actively developed in the Irkutsk region, and Chinese businessmen are buying up land and building hotels on the Baikal coast, displacing local entrepreneurs.

According to various estimates, up to two million Chinese citizens already live in the Far East.

• The Wall Street Journal wrote that China's interest in Power of Siberia 2 has returned because of Israel's war with Iran.
• In September it became known, that the statements of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller about reaching an agreement with China on the construction of the Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline were not confirmed by Beijing.