Oh, it absolutely is. Power of Siberia 1 is already financially hanging by a thread — the only real suspense lies in whether China will overpay (unlikely) or whether Russia will effectively end up handing over its gas for free, which is far more probable. Power of Siberia 2 is worse by orders of magnitude: the infrastructure required to gather, transport, and deliver gas across that frozen void to China is immense, and the economics make even less sense.
And let’s be real — the odds of China overpaying are about the same as a snowball’s chance in hell. Beijing doesn’t do charity; it wants discounts from countries under duress. So PoS2 isn’t a grand strategic alliance — it’s a ploy. Putin needs the project for political theatre; China plays along because it costs them nothing and may yield leverage later.
China knows full well this pipeline will likely never materialize. But there’s a price for indulging the performance, and whatever that price is, Putin has apparently decided it’s worth paying to keep the illusion alive.
The smartest Western response is simple: nod politely, applaud gently, and move on. No drama, no headlines, no breathless commentary. Just let them “succeed.” Because soon enough, the bill for this fantasy will land on the table — and the price will outweigh whatever imagined benefit they thought they were buying.