Dec ‌17 (Reuters) - Construction is progressing on a planned ‍Far ‌Eastern route to supply Russian natural gas to China, ⁠Beijing’s ambassador to ‌Moscow, Zhang Hanhui, told Russia’s RIA news agency in remarks published on Wednesday.

The Far Eastern route is ⁠designed to send gas from Russia’s Pacific coast to China ​via a new branch link connected ‌to Russia's Sakhalin–Khabarovsk–Vladivostok pipeline ⁠system.

Exports are scheduled to start in 2027, with China set to import an additional 2 ​billion cubic metres (bcm) a year initially and volumes later rising to 12 bcm annually.

“Construction of the Far Eastern route for natural gas ​supplies ‍from Russia to China ​is steadily progressing,” RIA cited Zhang as saying.

Russia currently supplies pipeline gas to China via the Power of Siberia pipeline, which started deliveries in 2019 and has a design capacity of ⁠38 bcm a year.

Energy has underpinned Moscow's push to deepen ties ​with Beijing after Western sanctions over Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine accelerated a pivot away from Europe, with China increasing purchases ‌of Russian crude and expanding gas cooperation.

(Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Saad Sayeed)