After the Ukraine war broke out, India filled its coffers with heavily discounted Russian oil. Indias share of oil imports from Russia increased from a puny 2% before the war to almost 40% in the next two years. But now China has surpassed India as the largest importer of Russian oil. How? We explain.
A logistically risky and costly transfer of crude between tankers at sea highlights the steps at least one Chinese buyer is willing to take to ensure the smooth flow of oil from eastern Russia to Asia.