Construction on the Chinese side of a natural gas pipeline linking to Russia began in western Heilongjiang province, a Chinese energy company said Tuesday.

Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli gave the ceremonial order to start construction on the pipeline during a video conference with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, the China National Petroleum Corp. said.

Russian energy company Gazprom has a 30-year sales agreement with CNPC that calls for 1.3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas per year through the pipeline.

With a European economy looking to break the Russian grip on the region's energy sector, the Kremlin has shifted focus on building successful trade relations with Asia-Pacific economies.

Gazprom in early 2015 received a AAA rating, the highest possible, from the Dagong Global rating agency in China, opening the Russian company up for trade on the Hong Kong stock index.

CNPC touted the Russian gas pipeline as a means to usher in a low-carbon economic era, helping to optimize the energy mix and improve air quality. By using natural gas instead of coal, the Chinese company said it would cut emissions by more than 165 million tons.

Construction on the Russia side of the pipeline began Sept. 1. Gazprom aims to start sending natural gas through the pipeline starting in 2018.