Russia has lost its lead as China’s top oil supplier to Saudi Arabia. At the end of last year, Saudi Arabia came first in a tight race to become the main oil supplier against Russia.
According to the Chinese customs, Saudis exported around 84.92 million tonnes to China in 2020. For the same reporting period, Russia exported some 83.57 million tonnes. Nevertheless, Russian oil producers still have a chance to leave Saudi Arabia behind. The fact is that oil exports to China from Saudi Arabia rose only by 1.9% compared to 2019. Meanwhile, Chinese imports from Russia spiked by 7.6%. If the country maintains the same results, Russia may well return its leading position.
The list of China’s top suppliers also includes Iraq, Brazil, Angola, etc. Thus, Iraq is the third-biggest supplier of crude oil to China. The country exported some 60.12 million tonnes last year. Brazil came in fourth place with around 42.19 million tonnes, overtaking Angola. Unexpectedly, the United States produced good results. China imported 19.76 million tonnes from the US in 2020. This was three times as much as in 2019. This year, the race to become China’s major oil supplier may get even more exciting. China’s demand for oil is expected to only increase in 2021. Meanwhile, oil demand in other countries is likely to slow down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year, the world’s top crude importer bought a record 542.4 million tonnes of crude oil. This year, China is expected to only boost its purchases.
