China has bought more fossil fuels from Russia since the start of the war in Ukraine than a year earlier. This means that the country remains largely dependent on Russian energy.
Since the outbreak of the war, China has bought a total of 35 billion dollars in, among other things, crude oil, gas, and coal from Russia. Last year it was about $20 billion.
China bought more than $7 billion worth of Russian energy in July alone. The same month last year was still just under 5 billion dollars. Imports of crude oil and liquefied gas (LNG) were also higher in July than twelve months previously. Energy imports thus accounted for 70 percent of total imports from Russia in July.
Russia is now China’s main energy supplier, displacing Indonesia. The Southeast Asian country previously raised prices, deterring buyers. Russia, on the other hand, sometimes sells fuels to China at a discounted rate.
In addition, China imported a record amount of coal of more than 7 million tons in July, an increase of 14 percent year on year. As a result, the amount of coking coal intended for the steel industry rose by 63 percent in the month.