Governor pitching Alaska LNG to Xi: ‘the entire value chain is available to them’ – Walker
By Energy Wire
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Chinese President Xi Jinping made a historic stop in Alaska on Friday, meeting with state Gov. Bill Walker and raising the possibility of increased business opportunities between China and America’s only Arctic state.
At a press conference Saturday, Walker said he spoke with Xi about a wide variety of trade issues, from fisheries and timber to air cargo and mining.
But one of Walker’s top priorities was Alaska’s hope of building an 800-mile pipeline and export facility to commercialize the North Slope’s massive reserves of natural gas. The state is taking the lead in developing the $45 billion Alaska LNG project to move liquefied natural gas.
“We have an opportunity to work sovereign to sovereign, which is unique because of our role in the gas line,” Walker said.
He suggested that China could be a customer, a financier or even an equity partner in building the massive natural gas export project. “The entire … value chain is available to them,” the governor said.
Xi visited Alaska after two days of meetings with President Trump in Florida.
During his Alaska stop, Xi noted that Trump “made some very positive comments about Alaska, specifically acknowledging the Alaska LNG project,” Walker reported.
The governor was particularly pleased that Xi was accompanied by 14 high-level government ministers, including China’s vice prime minister, ambassador to the United States, consul general and minister of commerce.
“If we had traveled to China, we could not have had a meeting like this,” Walker explained.
“To have that number of high officials from China in Alaska for that period of time was really an opportunity for us,” he continued. “We had our team there to match up with their folks on business opportunities between us.”
Walker and other state officials have been aggressively marketing the Alaska LNG project to top government leaders in Japan, South Korea and other energy-hungry Asian nations. The state’s Alaska Gasoline Development Corp. recently took representatives from 14 international energy and financial companies on a tour of the state to promote the gas line venture.
Along with natural gas, Walker’s team also discussed climate change with the Chinese leaders, although the governor didn’t offer many details on those talks.
“It appears that there is a strong interest in China as far as what to do about climate change,” Walker said. He noted that China may increasingly take the lead worldwide on climate issues as the Trump administration downgrades the importance of those policies.
A 4-hour tour
The extraordinary visit was launched two weeks ago when Walker received a notice that Xi was interested in stopping in Alaska after his Florida meetings with Trump.
On Friday evening, an Air China 747-400 landed at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport. Xi, Chinese first lady Peng Liyuan, and an entourage of Chinese ministers and security personnel were met on the tarmac by a group of Alaska state officials. Walker’s grandchildren were on hand give flowers to the Chinese president and first lady.
Under blue skies, the delegation traveled in a motorcade to Alaska’s picturesque Beluga Point, which overlooks the Cook Inlet and snow-covered mountain ranges. “It was a Chamber of Commerce day, a beautiful day,” Walker observed. The group later dined on Alaska seafood at the penthouse restaurant in the Hotel Captain Cook, where former President Obama stayed during his 2015 visit to Alaska.
Four hours after arriving in Anchorage, the Chinese delegation departed for home.
Walker said his meeting with the Chinese leaders included some lighthearted moments, including Xi’s observation that his visit to Alaska is likely to trigger increased Chinese tourism to the state.
The two leaders also talked about the possibility that Alaska could provide Olympic training facilities for China’s athletes preparing for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
“They don’t have the opportunities that we have as far as snow for training,” Walker noted. “So we talked about the potential of having some of the Olympic training opportunities in Alaska for China.”
