Published:September 14th, 2007 04:34 EST

Russia's monopoly in Central Asian gas industry contradicts China's national interests

Russia`s monopoly in Central Asian gas sector contradicts China`s national interests, Senior Researcher at Kazakh Institute for Strategic Studies at the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, expert of the Center for China Studies Konstantin Syroyezhkin announced at a conference China and Central Asian Countries in Current Geopolitical Realities " in Alma-Ata today, reports a REGNUM correspondent.

At the official level, we speak of some partnership and so on. But, in the Chinese press, reports have become more frequent that Russia`s monopoly in the Central Asian gas sector contradicts China`s national interests, and, in my opinion, one cannot expect settlement of the problem in the near future, because hydrocarbons deficit in China is increasing year by year and in Russia, by the way, as well, because Gazprom does not develop new fields, and it is quite logical to expect competition here, " the expert said.

Source:Journal of Turkish Weekly