By Chen Aizhu and Jing Xu
SINGAPORE (Reuters) -China’s commerce ministry has met independent oil refiners to discuss their deals with Russia, five sources with knowledge of the matter said, imports which have saved Chinese buyers billions of dollars.
China and India are buying at deep discounts amid Western sanctions on Russian oil and more recently, embargoes and price caps.
In discussions with about 10 independent refiners last week, the ministry enquired about the volumes and prices of their Russian oil imports, the sources said.
Officials also asked refiners if they had encountered any obstacles in these transactions, they added.
“The government wants to understand how much independent refiners could possibly buy and their actual appetite for such imports,” said one source with direct knowledge of the discussions.
The sources declined to be named as the discussions were not public. The ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
“Officials wanted to have a handle on the basics on theground, so when China communicates with Russia the governmentwould know what to talk about,” said one China-based source, a senior executive that deals with Russian oil.
The conversations come as parliament prepares for its annual congress next month and a possible state visit to Russia by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Also, China’s top diplomat Wang Yi will visit Russia during his current trip in Europe, the foreign ministry has said.
The ministry stopped short of offering any guidance on Russian oil deals, three of the sources said.
STATE REFINERS
The ministry also met state-run refiners this month to discuss China’s refined fuel trade policy which Beijing relaxed late last year to encourage exports, sources said.
A third source said state refiners were alsoasked about the impact on Chinese exports from a Europeanembargo on Russian fuel exports that took effect Feb. 5.
China imported a daily 1.73 million barrels of Russian crude in 2022, up 8.3% from a year earlier.
Top state refiners PetroChina and Sinopec are resuming purchases of discounted seaborne Russian crude after a brief pause in late 2022, but are taking a cautious approach by buying cargoes on a delivered basis only.
(Reporting by Chen Aizhu and Jing Xu; editing by Florence Tan and Jason Neely)
