On the 2nd, the National Pipeline Network Group announced that China’s largest single-pipe natural gas pipeline—the China-Russia East Line—has been fully connected. Its annual gas transmission capacity has increased to 38 billion cubic meters, reaching its maximum level. This marks the completion of China’s eastern energy strategic corridor. Clean energy from Siberia is now being transported southward from Heihe in Heilongjiang Province all the way to the eastern China region, ultimately reaching Shanghai. This pipeline will inject strong momentum into high-quality economic and social development along its route and contribute to a better life for people along the way.

The China-Russia East Pipeline is the third cross-border long-distance natural gas pipeline supplying gas to China, following the Central Asia Pipeline and the China-Myanmar Pipeline. It is an important component of China’s four major energy strategic corridors. The China-Russia East Pipeline stretches from Heihe in Heilongjiang Province in the north to Shanghai in the south, with a total length of 5,111 kilometers. The pipeline is divided into three segments: the northern segment (from Heihe in Heilongjiang to Changling in Jilin), the central segment (from Changling in Jilin to Yongqing in Hebei), and the southern segment (from Yongqing in Hebei to Shanghai). Since the northern segment was first put into operation and began delivering gas in December 2019, the various sections of the China-Russia East Pipeline—from Changling in Jilin to Taixing in Jiangsu—have been successively commissioned and put into service. As a result, the annual gas transmission capacity has risen from an initial 5 billion cubic meters to the current peak level of 38 billion cubic meters. The Nantong-Luzhi section, which was just put into operation this time, represents the final newly constructed segment of the southern part of the China-Russia East Pipeline. This marks the complete connection of the entire China-Russia East Pipeline, enabling “gas from the north to flow southward” directly to Shanghai. Furthermore, by linking up with the West-to-East Gas Pipeline System, the pipeline will extend its reach to cover additional regions such as Zhejiang and Anhui provinces.

With the full completion of the pipeline, the China-Russia East Line has achieved interconnectivity with the Northeast Pipeline Network, the Shaanxi-Beijing Pipeline System, the West-to-East Gas Pipeline System, and numerous coastal liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving stations. This significantly enhances China’s natural gas supply capacity and emergency peak-shaving and backup capabilities in the eastern region. It is of great significance for building a new pattern of China’s natural gas pipeline network—comprising “four strategic channels plus five vertical and five horizontal routes”—during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, and for better safeguarding national energy and economic security.

The China-Russia East Pipeline gas market covers China’s three northeastern provinces, the Bohai Rim region, and the Yangtze River Delta, among other areas. Since the northern section began operation and started delivering gas in December 2019, the cumulative gas transmission volume of the China-Russia East Pipeline has exceeded 80 billion cubic meters. This has not only established a new nationwide gas supply pattern and diversified gas supply channels but has also spurred industrial transformation and upgrading along the pipeline route, injecting strong momentum into the high-quality development of China’s eastern regions.