- China's spending on Russian energy imports totals $35 billion since war broke out in Ukraine, per media reports.
- Beijing is increasingly turning to Russian oil, gas and coal, after Moscow offered some supplies at a discount.
- Russia is now the top supplier of coal to China after Western countries imposed sanctions and Indonesia raised prices.
China's spending on energy imports from Russia has hit $35 billion for the months since the Ukraine war started, as the Asian powerhouse turns to Moscow for fuel.
That outlay on Russian energy from March to July is a big jump on the $20 billion booked a year before, according to a Bloomberg report Monday.
In July alone, Chinese buyers laid out a combined $7.2 billion on imports of oil, natural gas and coal, according to customs data cited by Bloomberg. That's a rise of 53% from the $4.7 billion booked in the same month in 2021.
Energy prices soared after Russian invaded Ukraine, and that will have inflated China's spending figures. But the country has also imported higher volumes of Russian crude oil, natural gas, and coal since the war began, according to China's General Administration of Customs.
China has stepped up its spending as western countries impose sanctions against Putin and Russia. The US has vowed to phase out Russian oil imports, while the EU will introduce an embargo on Russian crude in December.
Moscow has offered its oil exports at a discount to buyers in Asia, as it searches for customers in the face of Western sanctions. China's state and independent refineries have jumped on the opportunity to snap up cheap crude, with Russian Urals oil trading at a 22% discount to the global Brent benchmark.
Seaborne imports to China of liquefied natural gas have risen 20% over the past year, with Russia sending 410,000 tons by tanker in July, according to Bloomberg.
Meanwhile, imports of Russian coal surged 14% year-on-year to hit a new record high of 7.4 million tons in July. Russia has now overtaken Indonesia as China's top source for the fuel imports.