In the first half of 2026, China substantially boosted its purchases of Russian oil, with physical import volumes rising by 16.7% to 57.28 million tons. According to data from the General Administration of Customs of China, the monetary value of these shipments surged even more dramatically, increasing by 31.1% to reach $33.13 billion. Year-on-year, import volumes grew by approximately 8 million tons, while Beijing’s financial outlay on Russian crude increased by $8 billion.
Despite a slight decline in daily exports from Russia in May, dropping from 9.32 million to 7.72 million barrels per day, the country has confidently maintained its status as the top supplier of hydrocarbons in the Chinese market. Russian oil accounted for 25% of China’s imports, significantly outpacing Saudi Arabia, which held a distant second place with just 17%.
This increase in purchases occurs amid another escalation of the Iranian conflict in the Middle East, which has triggered a spike in global oil prices above $90 per barrel.
