China’s Russian oil imports rose 55% in May from a year earlier as Western sanctions were imposed on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, official figures showed on Monday.
Last month, the Asian giant bought about 8.42 million tons of oil from Russia, according to Chinese customs.
This is a much higher amount than oil imports from Saudi Arabia, usually China’s main supplier.
The country is Russia’s most important economic partner.
The West has imposed unprecedented sanctions on Moscow in retaliation for its offensive against Ukraine.
Western powers have repeatedly warned Beijing against any support for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime that would allow Moscow to mitigate the effects of the sanctions.
For its part, Russia is looking for new outlets for its goods, which Western countries have avoided since the beginning of the military intervention in Ukraine.
Moscow relies on Chinese power to escape total economic isolation.
Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated his country’s closeness to Russia during a phone call with his counterpart Vladimir Putin on Wednesday.
According to the Kremlin report, the two heads of state agreed, among other things, to expand cooperation in the energy sector.