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In a show of defiance against US President Trump’s threats of sanctions, Chinese oil refineries have ramped up imports of Russian crude and have purchased oil initially intended for India.
Muyu Xu, a senior crude analyst at Kpler, has said that China’s state-owned and major private refiners have purchased about 13 cargoes of Russian crude for October and at least two for November, to be shipped from Russia’s Arctic and Black Sea ports, routes that usually serve India. He called the move “opportunistic,” citing Russian crude’s US$3-per-barrel discount over Middle Eastern alternatives, and predicted China will likely continue to step up imports as Trump is “still pressing hard” on India.
While Trump has said he may impose tariffs on China for buying Russian oil, last week he told CNN that he wasn’t immediately considering it.
China and India became the top buyers of Russian oil after Western sanctions hit Moscow following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022. US President Donald Trump recently imposed a 25% tariff on Indian imports, which becomes effective from August 27, citing New Delhi’s continued oil trade with Russia, on top of an earlier 25% duty issued after India and the US failed to reach a trade deal. The new measure has reportedly led India’s state refiners to temporarily halt Russian crude imports, which previously made up 36% of national supply.
Indian refiners have not commented publicly, although Indian analysts have said that that they have resumed Russian oil purchases after a brief pause, and that Indian Oil and Bharat Petroleum this week secured shipments for September and October. India has denounced Trump’s tariffs as “unfair, unjustified, and unreasonable,” repeatedly pledging to prioritize energy security over politics.
At an intergovernmental meeting on Wednesday, (August 19) Russian Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov confirmed that Moscow continues to supply crude and petroleum products to India.
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