China will not reach an agreement to import natural gas from Russia’s during a state visit by President Vladimir Putin this week despite strenuous Russian efforts to secure what has been portrayed as a key test of closer Sino-Russian ties. As Moscow’s relations with the West have deteriorated over the crisis in Ukraine, Mr Putin has sought to show the world and the Russian people that he has alternative friends to the east. Russian media, officials and Mr Putin himself have repeatedly said the 30-year, $456bn deal would be signed during the president’s visit to Shanghai, which ends on Wednesday evening. But PetroChina , the listed subsidiary of state-owned China National Petroleum Corp, China’s largest oil company, told the Financial Times on Wednesday that the deal would not be signed on this visit. “We won’t be signing [on this visit],” said Mao Zefeng, spokesman for PetroChina. “At the moment […]