CHINA'S ENERGY DIPLOMACY TOWARDS RUSSIA IN THE EASTERN SIBERIA PIPELINE DEVELOPMENT DURING PRESIDENT XI JINPING PERIOD

China is a very active country in building energy diplomacy relations towards Russia. Since the end of the Cold War, the intensity of energy relations between the two countries has been increasing, one of which is related to the Eastern Siberian pipeline project. The Eastern Siberian pipeline project is a strategic project for China to maintain the stability of their energy security in the future. This is what makes China under the leadership of Xi Jinping, increasingly seeking to improve their energy diplomacy relations towards Russia in an effort to develop the Eastern Siberian pipeline project which includes two major projects, specifically oil pipeline through the Eastern Siberian Pasific Ocean (ESPO) and the natural gas pipeline through the Power of Siberia. Using qualitative research methods and literature reviews, the authors sought to provide an in-depth analysis of China's implementation of energy diplomacy against Russia in the development of the Eastern Siberian pipeline. China's energy diplomacy towards Russia is part of efforts to diversify China's energy imports many involving actors of China's national energy companies. This research also proves that energy cooperation relationships are not only built within bilateral frameworks but also in multilateral frameworks as part of China-Russia efforts to accelerate the development of the Eastern Siberian pipeline.

Political Economy of Green Hydrogen Rollout: A Global Perspective

The present paper dwells on the role of green hydrogen in the transition towards climate-neutral economies and reviews the central challenges for its emancipation as an economically viable source of energy. The study shows that countries with a substantial share of renewables in the energy mix, advanced natural gas pipeline infrastructure, and an advanced level of technological and economic development have a comparative advantage for the wider utilization of hydrogen in their national energy systems. The central conclusion of this review paper is that a green hydrogen rollout in the developed and oil-exporting developing and emerging countries is not a risk for the rest of the world in terms of the increasing technological disparities and conservation of underdevelopment and concomitant socio-economic problems of the Global South. The targets anchored in Paris Agreement, but even more in the EU Green Deal and the European Hydrogen Strategy will necessitate a substantial rollout of RESs in developing countries, and especially in the countries of the African Union because of the prioritization of the African continent within the energy cooperation frameworks of the EU Green Deal and the EU Hydrogen Strategy. Hence, the green hydrogen rollout will bridge the energy transition between Europe and Africa on the one hand, and climate and development targets on the other.