#FollowMeForMoreInformation

Russia's Sechin says China is moving towards exporting energy:

Rosneft ROSN CEO Igor Sechin, one of the most influential men in Russia's energy sector, said on Saturday that China was seeking complete energy independence and that in the foreseeable future it could become a major energy exporter.

China's economic and military rise over the past 45 years is considered to be one of the most significant geopolitical events of recent times, alongside the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union which ended the Cold War.

Sechin said that a massive increase in electricity consumption was changing the entire landscape of the global energy markets as populations soared in Africa and Asia and the digital revolution triggered massive demand for power.

Speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Sechin said that China accounted for a third of global investment in the energy sector, was ramping up renewable energy capacity and was now one of the leaders in nuclear power.

"China, which has already ensured its energy security, is confidently moving towards complete energy independence, forming a stable energy balance based on its own resources," Sechin said in a speech which referenced both Greek mythology and Niccolo Machiavelli.

"There is no doubt, taking into account the persistence and professionalism of our Chinese comrades, that in the foreseeable future they will achieve the desired result, which will turn China from an importer of energy resources into a major energy exporter."

China is currently the world's largest importer of crude oil and a major importer of natural gas. Russia is the world's second largest oil exporter and holds the world's largest reserves of natural gas.

Sechin, who worked alongside Vladimir Putin in the former imperial capital of St Petersburg and later under the president in the Kremlin, has run Rosneft since 2012.

Rosneft accounts for about 40% of Russian oil production, 14% of the country's gas production and 32% of the refinery market. It is also the biggest Russian exporter of oil to China.