China’s March crude oil imports from Russia jump 1.5-fold on year

China’s crude oil imports from Russia jumped 1.5-fold in March from a year earlier to some 9.6 million tons, government data showed recently, underlining Beijing’s indirect support for Moscow’s war in Ukraine amid sanctions imposed by Western nations.

In terms of volume, China’s crude oil imports from Russia hit their highest level since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February last year, with Russia surpassing Saudi Arabia as the largest crude oil provider for the Asian country.

The development came after Western nations introduced a price cap in December on Russian crude oil to squeeze Mosco...