Beijing has expressed interest in purchasing natural gas from a proposed export facility in Alaska, President Donald Trump said Thursday after meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
China has “agreed that they will begin the process of purchasing American Energy,” Trump wrote on Truth Social following the bilateral meeting in South Korea. “In fact, a very large scale transaction may take place concerning the purchase of Oil and Gas from the Great State of Alaska.”
Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum will continue the negotiations “to see if such an Energy Deal can be worked out,” Trump added.
Chinese investment in the proposed Alaska gas development could help bring to fruition a $44 billion project that has barely progressed since it was first pitched more than a decade ago. The project’s backers have struggled to sign the long-term supply contracts needed to start building the export plant they’ve planned for the state’s south coast and the pipeline required to bring it gas from Alaska’s North Slope. The Trump administration has heavily boosted Alaska LNG, calling it necessary for national security.
