Russia becomes China’s top oil supplier amid Ukraine war sanctions

Chinese refiners cash in on heavily discounted Russian oil supplies, boosting imports by 55%

• Russia-Ukraine war: latest updates

China's crude oil imports from Russia soared by 55% from a year earlier to a record level in May, displacing Saudi Arabia as the top supplier, as refiners cashed in on discounted supplies amid sanctions on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.

Imports of Russian oil, including supplies pumped via the east Siberia Pacific pipeline and seaborne shipments, totalled nearly 8.42m tonnes, according to data on Monday from the Chinese general administration of customs.