China ramped up crude oil imports from Russia in May, customs data showed Monday, helping to offset losses from Western nations scaling back Russian energy purchases over the invasion of Ukraine.
The spike means Russia has overtaken Saudi Arabia to become China’s top oil provider as the West sanctions Moscow’s energy exports.
The world’s second-biggest economy imported about 8.42 million tons of oil from Russia last month, a 55% rise from a year ago.
Beijing has refused to publicly condemn Moscow’s war and has instead exacted economic gains from its isolated neighbor.
It imported 7.82 million tons of oil from Saudi Arabia in May.
China bought $7.47 billion worth of Russian energy products last month, about $1 billion more than in April, according to Bloomberg News.
The new customs data came four months into the war in Ukraine, with buyers from the United States and Europe shunning Russian energy imports or pledging to slash them over the coming months.
Asian demand is helping to stanch some of those losses for Russia, especially buyers from China and India.
India bought six times more Russian oil from March to May compared with the same period last year, while imports by China during that period tripled, data from research firm Rystad Energy show.
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