Description: Chinese crude – oil shipments from Russia were 1% higher than the ones recorded in 2023. China also increased oil imports from Venezuela and transitory hubs such as Malaysia, while oil imports from Saudi Arabia significantly fell behind. Imports from Iran haven’t been recorder although, Iran has been a significant crude – oil supplier for China as most of the Iranian oil previously ended up in Chinese independent refiners.
Impact: As Russia’s closest ally, China’s aim is to lighten sanctions implications on Russia’s energy sector and indirectly support and assist the Russia economy while global sanctions intensify. With Trump now in power, China would aim towards the development of economic alliances with countries from “the axis of resistance” as the country is the world’s larger importer of crude oil products. Unconventional economic and trade alliances with countries like Qatar or Saudi Arabia are not out of the question, however, with the constant fluctuation of the geopolitical landscape, China would aim to directly bolster Russian trade exports and strengthen Russia’s global economic position, all the while strengthening their own energy independency.