Saudi Arabia, which is the world’s largest oil exporter, has again bypassed Russia in fuel supplies to China. Reported by Reuters.
In 2020, the Middle Eastern state supplied 84.92 million tons to the PRC (1.9 percent more than in 2019). Russia exported 83.57 million tons to China (7.6 percent more than last year). Iraq became the third largest oil supplier to China, which supplied 60.12 million tons (16.1 percent more than a year earlier). Brazil and Angola are also in the top 5 suppliers. In addition, the US increased shipments to China in 2020. In total, the United States sent 19.76 million tons of oil to the PRC, tripling its supplies in a year.
China is the world’s largest oil importer. The demand for raw materials in the PRC remained high in 2020, despite the coronavirus pandemic, which caused an economic crisis and reduced oil consumption in the world. Overall, China’s raw material imports rose 7.3 percent last year from the previous year as Beijing began buying fuel amid collapsing prices.
Russia in 2020 tried to bypass Saudi Arabia and become the main supplier of oil to China. If from January to November Riyadh sent 1.6-1.7 million barrels a day to the PRC, then Moscow exported about 1.7 million. However, in the end, Russia still lost the race for the status of the main oil supplier to China.