Back on January 1, 2026, the Chinese authorities completely stopped importing electricity from Russia. Moreover, China is not even purchasing the minimum volume stipulated by the contract — about 12 MW.
Points of attention
- Despite the current suspension of electricity exports to China, there is a possibility of resuming exports if a new request is made by China.
- The impact of China's decision on the Russian Ministry of Energy and the future implications for energy trade relationships between the two countries are significant.
Russia has lost another market for its electricity
What is important to understand is that the unexpected decision of official Beijing was the result of high export prices, which this month exceeded domestic Chinese prices for the first time.
Therefore, the Chinese authorities decided to abandon Russian electricity, ignoring previously signed contracts.
Inter RAO (an export-import operator) exported surplus electricity from the Far East to China. The supply contract was concluded with the Chinese State Grid Corporation in 2012. It is valid until 2037.
According to the documents, over the entire period, China was supposed to receive about 100 billion kWh, or about 4 billion kWh per year.
It is also worth noting that the electricity price formula established by the contract has never been disclosed.
According to insiders, electricity exports to China are unlikely to resume this year.
Despite this, the Russian Ministry of Energy allows exports to resume upon receipt of a new request from China.
