Russia exported a record amount of oil to China in May. China supplied the Chinese with 55 percent more oil compared to the previous year. This has increased the importance of the Asian country for the Russians, especially now that the West no longer wants to import Russian oil due to the war in Ukraine.

Due to increased sales, Russia overthrew Saudi Arabia as China’s largest oil supplier. In addition, Chinese refiners of Sinopec and ZhenHua Oil, among others, were able to take advantage of discounts. Russia offered relatively low prices, because the country could supply fossil raw materials only to a limited number of markets due to sanctions.

Russia’s oil imports totaled nearly 8.4 million tons last month, according to data from the Chinese Customs Service. That equates to just under 2 million barrels a day, up from 1.6 million barrels of oil a day the previous month.

China is the largest importer of crude oil in the world. Imported Russian oil is brought to China via the East Siberian pipeline in the Pacific Ocean as well as from Russian ports. Oil also comes from the ports of western Russia.