Russia was China's main oil supplier for the second month running in June as buyers shunned Saudi Arabian crude to take advantage of lower-priced supplies offered by Moscow.
Market data, according to Reuters on July 20, showed Chinese imports of Russian oil totaled 7.29 million tonnes in June, up nearly 10 percent from a year ago. That was over 2 million tonnes more than China received from Saudi Arabia, its traditional main supplier.
With Western customers shunning oil from Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, Moscow has turned to markets in Asia and elsewhere to pick up the slack.
Bloomberg reported on July 19 that India has gone from importing almost no Russian oil to almost 1 million barrels a day in June.
The news agency also noted that flows of Russian crude to China have stalled in recent weeks, a possible sign that Asia may not be equipped to fully absorb as much Russian oil as expected.
Separately, data also showed China's imports of Russian liquefied natural gas totaled 520,530 tonnes, the second-highest monthly volume since at least the start of 2021.
Russia has cut supplies to several European countries because they have refused to use a mechanism created by Moscow that allows for the purchases to be made in rubles.
Sanctions by the West on Russia over its war against Ukraine. launched on February 24 have cut off the country and its financial institutions from global transaction systems used for international payments.