China’s largest oil supplier in 2023 was Russia
Russia surpassed Saudi Arabia to become China’s largest oil supplier in 2023, according to the latest Chinese customs data, CNN reports.
The world’s largest crude buyer imported a record amount of bargain-priced Russian oil last year, taking advantage of Moscow’s desperate search for new buyers amid Western sanctions following the Kremlin’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
The volume of Russian crude shipped to China jumped 24% in 2023 to 107.02 million metric tons, compared to 2022, according to data released by China’s General Administration of Customs on Saturday.
That helped Russia overtake Saudi Arabia as China’s largest crude oil supplier for the year. The Middle East country shipped 85.96 million metric tons of crude oil to China in 2023, down 2% from 2022.
Russia now accounts for 19% of China’s oil imports, while Saudi Arabia makes up 15%.
