At the same time, Mr. Xi was unhappy with the Obama administration on issues ranging from Washington’s outspoken support of its military alliance with Japan, its criticism of China’s actions in the South China Sea, and its hard line on cybertheft, said Shi Yinhong, a professor of international relations at Renmin University in Beijing.
Although China had expressed neutrality over the Ukraine crisis, the strained relations with Washington in other spheres tipped that position in favor of Russia, Mr. Shi said. Mr. Xi and Mr. Putin have met seven times, he noted.
Those factors appear to have pushed the two sides to an agreement, whose final sticking point had been price. The final price of the Russian gas, which will flow through a 2,500-mile pipeline from two fields in Siberia, was not disclosed, and energy markets were trying to parse who gained the bigger advantage.
Russia had been holding out for a price close to what European countries pay, and China for a price akin to the cheaper gas it buys from Central Asia, energy experts who tracked the talks said.
With Russia’s economy near recession and the International Monetary Fund projecting 0.2 percent growth this year, Mr. Putin was desperate to get the deal done, energy experts said.