China's May Russian Energy Imports Reach $7.5 Billion 'Record High'... Double Year-on-Year

[Photo by Reuters-Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] Bloomberg reported on the 20th (local time) that China's energy import value from Russia last month reached a record high of $7.47 billion.

China's energy purchases from Russia increased by about $1 billion compared to April and doubled compared to a year ago. Thanks to China's large-scale energy procurement, Russia surpassed Saudi Arabia to become China's largest crude oil supplier.

Earlier, China's customs authority, the General Administration of Customs, released the trade balance for May on the 9th. At that time, China's imports from Russia in May amounted to $10.27 billion, an 80% increase compared to a year ago.

According to additional details disclosed by Bloomberg, about 75% of China's imports from Russia were energy-related.

After Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Western sanctions blocked Russia's energy exports to the West. As a result, China has significantly increased its energy imports from Russia.

China's crude oil imports from Russia in May surged 55% year-on-year to 8.42 million tons. China's liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports in May decreased by 28%. However, imports of Russian LNG increased by 54% to 397,000 tons.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.