That is just the Western "doom and gloom" argument exposed by publications like FT and the Economist. The truth is China has been paying more to the Russians for each cubic meter of gas via Power of Siberia than the Germans were paying for Nord Stream gas. This is cost effective for China because, even at those prices, the Russian gas is much cheaper than either sea transported LNG, or gas from Turkmenistan which needs to travel long distances via huge expensive pipeline networks inside China to reach the cities in the coast. The Russian gas from Power of Siberia is supplied close to the major heavy industry centers in Northern China aka the "rust belt" and Beijing and requires minimal upkeep and construction of pipelines inside China in comparison. So it is much more valuable than either LNG or Turkmenistan gas in that area. It will also be competitive, although less so, with other supplies even for sales to Shanghai area. Because Russia is paying for the costs of the construction of the pipelines inside Russia by themselves, while China had to pay for the construction of the pipelines in Central Asia. Which are also much longer. LNG is much more expensive than piped gas. It is just plain economics of the thing. Ship based transport is less cost effective. You lose energy by liquefying and gasifying the natural gas. You lose energy by transporting it by ship over huge distances.
I think a lot of the arguments around this are also BS. The fact is the Russians cannot start construction of the pipeline yet since the route hasn't been properly surveyed and decided upon. They are still doing detailed land surveys in Mongolia. And China cannot just switch their energy consumption from coal to natural gas in Northern China at the flip of a switch. It will take many years to convert energy from coal to gas. It requires changing boilers in houses and neighborhoods for heating from coal or oil to gas, making new gas powered power stations to replace polluting coal power stations near urban environments, switching industries to burn gas instead of coal, etc. In the long term the Chinese government will push society to do this to reduce carbon pollution from coal use in Northern China. But it will take significant effort.
There is no point in building a pipeline direct to China if there is no demand for the gas inside China proper. Northern China is still heavily reliant on coal for energy use and it will take time to make the transition.
