In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, workers inspect the pipelines and oil storage tanks of a nearly 625-miles-long China and Russia crude oil pipeline in Mohe, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province on Jan. 1, 2011. China’s support for Russia through oil and gas purchases is irking Washington and raising the risk of U.S. retaliation, foreign observers say, though they see no sign Beijing is helping Moscow evade sanctions over its war on Ukraine. (Wang Jianwei/Xinhua via AP, File)