How China’s energy outlook has been reshaped by the Ukraine war
- In the past year, the flow of Russian energy products to China has increased, with importers taking advantage of discounted prices
- But growing Russian oil and gas imports pose a risk, adding to perceptions of a strong Moscow-Beijing alliance amid a more politicised global energy market
As the Ukraine war enters its second year with no end in sight, there is one foregone conclusion that affects almost every country in the world: the conflict has profoundly reshaped the global energy market.
The Russian invasion and subsequent Western sanctions have heaped enormous strain on oil and gas markets, put climate goals on the back burner, and forced nations to re-evaluate long-standing supply relationships.
For China, the world’s largest energy importer and consumer, the long-term outcome is still murky.
In the short term, the war has enhanced China’s oil supply security because Chinese refiners have been able to buy Russian crude at a discount, according to Erica Downs, a senior research scholar at the Centre on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University.
