Page 74 - RusRPTSept22

5.2.1 Import/export dynamics
China and India have ramped up their Russian oil purchases this year. In June of this year, China spent 72% more on Russian energy than in the same month in 2021, and in the first three months of the war, it spent twice as much as it did in those months the previous year. In May and in June, Russia replaced Saudi Arabia as China’s top oil supplier. In the first three months of the war, India purchased $5bn of energy resources — four times more than in the same month a year earlier.
Both countries have been getting Russian oil at a discount: in June, they were buying Urals oil at a price about $25 lower per barrel than that of Brent oil, and in April, the difference was more than $33. While it could be more profitable for China and India to join the American-led buyers’ cartel and fix an even lower oil price for themselves, they will likely be unwilling to spoil their relationships with Moscow.
But after the European Union, China is the second-largest contributor to Russia's import decline since the invasion, despite President Xi Jinping's promise of "no limits" cooperation.
The changing economic relationship between Russia and China since the Ukraine invasion is best illustrated by the dynamics of cross-border
74 RUSSIA Country Report September 2022 www.intellinews.com