China’s March crude oil imports from Russia jump 1.5-fold on year

China’s crude oil imports from Russia jumped 1.5-fold in March from a year earlier to some 9.6 million tons, government data showed recently, underlining Beijing’s indirect support for Russia   in the  Ukraine conflict  amid sanctions imposed by Western nations.

In terms of volume, China’s crude oil imports from Russia hit their highest level since Moscow’s conflict  with  Kiev in February last year, with Russia surpassing Saudi Arabia as the largest crude oil provider for the Asian country.

The development came after Western nations introduced a unilateral  price cap in December on Russian crude oil to squeeze Russia’s  key source of revenue as economic punishment for its ongoing conflict  with  Ukraine.

But in value terms, China’s crude oil imports from Russia only rose 3 percent to $5.09 billion. In contrast, Beijing imported from Saudi Arabia about 8.9 million tons of crude oil worth $5.36 billion in March, indicating the Asian giant has been buying Russian oil at a cheaper price.

Meanwhile, China’s pipeline gas imports from Russia soared 2.3 times in March from a year earlier to $580 million, while Beijing did not release import volume from the neighbouring country.

During their summit talks in Moscow in late March, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin agreed to promote the construction of a new gas pipeline between the two countries, with the project expected to further deepen bilateral economic cooperation.

In March, China’s liquefied natural gas imports from Russia advanced 1.9-fold from a year earlier to some 600,000 tons that were worth about $400 million.

China has opposed the sanctions on Russia and continued to purchase energy from the neighbouring country. Bilateral trade hit a record $190 billion in 2022, according to Chinese customs data.