China’s unprecedented imports of Russian crude

Customs data, published yesterday, showed that China’s imports of crude oil from Russia, its largest supplier, amounted to 21.8 million tons in the first two months of 2026, equivalent to 2.7 million barrels per day, an increase of 41% compared to the same period last year.

According to Reuters calculations based on Chinese customs data, the daily import rate in the first two months reached an unprecedented level, at least since 2015.

Imports from Malaysia decreased by 21% to 7.78 million tons, or 0.96 million barrels per day, last January and February.

Imports from Indonesia in the first two months of this year amounted to 5.09 million tons, or 0.63 million barrels per day.