China's imports of Russian oil, LNG rise sharply in first half of 2026

China increased its imports of Russian crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) during the first half of 2026, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs of China.

Between January and June, China imported 57.284 million metric tons of crude oil from Russia, up 16.6% from the same period in 2025. Imports of Russian LNG reached 3.593 million metric tons, an increase of 27.8% year-on-year, Caliber.Az reports per Russian media.

In value terms, China's purchases of Russian crude oil totaled $33.128 billion in the first six months of 2026, a 31.1% increase from $25.269 billion during the same period a year earlier. China spent $1.811 billion on Russian LNG during the period, compared with $1.673 billion in the first half of 2025.

In June alone, China imported 8.301 million metric tons of Russian crude oil worth $5.723 billion. While the volume of shipments was down 0.6% from June 2025, when imports totaled 8.351 million metric tons, the value of those imports increased by 40.6%, reflecting higher oil prices.

Russia also continued to expand its LNG exports to China. According to the data, Russia shipped a record 9.799 million metric tons of LNG to China in 2025, up 18.3% from 2024 and more than 50 times the volume exported in 2015.

Despite a slight decline in annual crude oil shipments last year, Russia remained one of China's largest energy suppliers. Official Chinese customs data show that China imported 100.723 million metric tons of Russian crude oil in 2025, 7.14% less than in 2024.

By Sabina Mammadli