China’s Russian energy imports balloon to $88bn since war

China’s Russian energy imports balloon to $88bn since war

In the year since Russia invaded Ukraine, roiling energy markets across the globe, China’s appetite for Moscow’s oil, gas and coal has grown apace, with imports rising by more than half.

Beijing’s spending on Russian energy, including crude oil and products, coal and natural gas, ballooned to $88 billion in the year through February, according to Chinese customs figures, replacing other buyers that have shunned Russian exports because of the war. That compared to $57 billion in the previous 12 months.

China’s growing share of Russian exports is key to the increasingly asymmetric relationship between China and Russia, laid bare during President Xi Jinping’s visit to Moscow this week. Russia receives a reliable source of funding for its war machine in spite of international sanctions, while its energy-hungry eastern neighbor gets to gorge on vast flows of fossil fuels, often bought at discounted rates.