BEIJING, December 2./TASS/. The development of relations between Russia and China is priority for the two countries, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Monday.

"The development of Russian-Chinese relations is and will remain a priority trajectory in the foreign policy of each of our countries," Xi Jinping said during a TV link-up with President Vladimir Putin over the launch of the Power of Siberia gas pipeline.

The Chinese leader also stressed that "the countries will be consistently strengthening strategic cooperation and partnership on different tracks". "The eastern route of the Russian-Chinese gas pipeline is a landmark project of bilateral energy cooperation. It is an example of deep integration and mutually advantageous cooperation of our countries," Xi Jinping emphasized.

President Vladimir Putin, for his part, characterized the unveiling of the gas pipeline as a move that "brings the Russian-Chinese strategic partnership in the energy sector to a whole new level and puts us closer to fulfilling the task of bringing bilateral trade turnover to $200 bln in 2024 that was set together with Chinese President Xi Jinping".

The Power of Siberia gas pipeline will transport gas from fields in the Irkutsk and Sakha (Yakutia) regions to consumers in Russia’s Far East and China (‘eastern route’). In May 2014, Russia’s Gazprom and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) signed a sales and purchase agreement for gas to be supplied via the ‘eastern route’ (Power of Siberia gas pipeline). The total price of the contract on annual supplies of 38 billion cubic meters of gas to China amounted to $400 bln. The gas pipeline’s total length is about 3,000 km.