Construction on the Chinese side of a natural gas pipeline linking to Russia began in western Heilongjiang province, a Chinese energy company said Tuesday. Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli gave the ceremonial order to start construction on the pipeline during a video conference with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev , the China National Petroleum Corp. said. Russian energy company Gazprom has a 30-year sales agreement with CNPC that calls for 1.3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas per year through the pipeline. With a European economy looking to break the Russian grip on the region’s energy sector, the Kremlin has shifted focus on building successful trade relations with Asia-Pacific economies. Gazprom in early 2015 received a AAA rating , the […]