????另外需要注意的一點(diǎn)是，中俄兩國在這筆交易中并不是處在平等的地位上。過去十年間，包括此次天然氣供應(yīng)協(xié)議在內(nèi)，俄羅斯曾經(jīng)三次在有需要的時候與中國達(dá)成數(shù)十億美元的能源交易。2005年，中國國家開發(fā)銀行（China Development Bank）與中國進(jìn)出口銀行（Export-Import Bank of China）成為俄羅斯石油公司（Rosneft）的最后貸款人，為這家俄羅斯國有石油公司提供60億美元以石油為抵押的貸款，幫助它收購俄羅斯私有石油公司尤科斯（Yukos）的主要生產(chǎn)資產(chǎn)。

????四年后，中國國家開發(fā)銀行向俄羅斯石油公司和俄羅斯國有管道運(yùn)營商俄羅斯石油運(yùn)輸公司（Transneft）提供了250億美元以石油為抵押的貸款。當(dāng)時正值全球金融危機(jī)，石油價格暴跌，信貸緊縮，這兩家俄羅斯公司都陷入困境。這幾筆交易不僅加深了兩國的能源關(guān)系，同時也意味著在這種關(guān)系中，主動權(quán)正在從俄羅斯向中國轉(zhuǎn)移。

????不論到底哪一方做出了更多讓步，在國內(nèi)和國際舞臺上，中國兩國都把自己描繪成獲勝者。這次的天然氣交易預(yù)示著中俄兩國的能源關(guān)系開始充分發(fā)揮潛力。2013年，俄羅斯是中國第四大原油供應(yīng)國，未來將成為它南方鄰邦重要的天然氣進(jìn)口來源。從長期來看，這份協(xié)議將分別給俄羅斯和中國帶來更可靠的供應(yīng)與需求保障。而從短期而言，天然氣協(xié)議的主要好處表現(xiàn)在政治方面。俄羅斯可以獲得中國這個強(qiáng)有力的盟友，而中國也獲得了又一次機(jī)會，彰顯出它在世界舞臺日益擴(kuò)大的經(jīng)濟(jì)與政治影響力。

????本文作者鄧麗嘉是布魯金斯學(xué)會約翰?L?桑頓中國研究中心研究員。她一直致力于研究中國公司的海外擴(kuò)張、中國的能源和外交政策以及中國政府與企業(yè)的關(guān)系，之前曾在美國中央情報(bào)局擔(dān)任能源分析師。（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

????譯者：劉進(jìn)龍/汪皓

????It is also important to note that this is not a marriage among equals. The natural gas supply agreement is the third time in the past decade that the Russians have brokered a multi-billion dollar energy deal with the Chinese in a time of need. In 2005, the China Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of China were lenders of last resort to Rosneft, providing the Russian national oil company with a $6 billion oil-backed loan to help fund the purchase of the main production asset of a private Russian oil company, Yukos.

????Four years later, the China Development Bank extended oil-backed loans worth $25 billion to Rosneft and Transneft, the state-owned pipeline operator, when oil prices collapsed and credit crunch during the global financial crisis left both Russian companies in a world of hurt. These deals have not only deepened bilateral energy relations, but also underscored a shift in power in the relationship away from Russia and toward China.

????Regardless of which country may have conceded more, both countries can present themselves as winners to domestic and international audiences. The gas deal signifies that the China-Russia energy relationship is starting to live up to its full potential. Russia, which was China’s fourth largest crude oil supplier in 2013, is poised to become a major source of natural gas imports for its southern neighbor. This arrangement should provide Russia with greater security of demand and China with greater security of supply in the long-term. In the short-term, the main benefits of the gas agreement are political. Russia can claim a powerful friend in China, and China can point to another indicator of its growing economic and political clout on the world stage.

????Erica Downs is a fellow in the John L. Thornton China Center at Brookings Institution. She focuses on the international expansion of Chinese companies and China’s energy and foreign policies as well as government-business relations in China, and was previously was an energy analyst at the CIA.