China raised its imports of Russian crude oil to 11.2 million tonnes in August, equivalent to 2.64 million barrels per day, up 41% year on year and 23% from July, according to data released on Sunday.
Decline in supplies from the Middle East
Shipments from Saudi Arabia fell 47% year on year and 41% month on month to 3.2 million tonnes, or 740,000 barrels per day. Imports from Iraq fell 75% to 1.4 million tonnes, while those from Oman declined 71% to 900,000 tonnes.
China’s imports from the United Arab Emirates reached 2.9 million tonnes, equivalent to 680,000 barrels per day, down 4% year on year from August 2025 but up 20% from the previous July.
Shifts in Asian oil flows
Chinese customs data showed no recorded imports of crude oil from the United States, Venezuela or Iran last month. By contrast, imports from Malaysia, the biggest hub for the re-export of sanctioned Iranian oil, reached 2.6 million tonnes, or 620,000 barrels per day, down 45% year on year but up 74% from the previous month.
China imported 3.1 million tonnes from Indonesia, or 730,000 barrels per day, up 16% year on year and unchanged from July. Imports of Indonesian crude had amounted to only around 100,000 tonnes in 2024 before exceeding 2 million tonnes per month for the first time in July 2025.
