China Boosted Oil Imports Nearly 16% in Early 2026

Crude oil imports into China climbed 15.8% over the first two months of the year, with the information likely to continue to a reversal of the recent decline in oil prices, signalling strong demand from the world’s largest importer.

Per official data from Beijing, China imported crude oil at a daily rate of 11.99 million barrels, Reuters reported today, or a total of 96.93 million tons. This is higher than the 2025 average, which was a record-high 11.55 million barrels daily.

Seaborne imports specifically rose by 2.1 million barrels daily from a year ago in January, and by 1.7 million barrels daily in February. Also, February seaborne imports, at 11.47 million barrels daily, were higher than January rates, which averaged 10.88 million barrels daily, according to data from Kpler.

The increase in imports was prompted by higher refining rates but also by continued stockpiling. It was this stockpiling, which has been going on steadily for over a year, at rates close to 1 million barrels daily, that has put China in a more favorable position than other large oil importers now that traffic via the Strait of Hormuz has been severely disrupted.

“The increase in Russian shipments in January and February was particularly notable, nearly doubling from a year ago,” Muyu Xu, oil analyst at Kpler, said as quoted by Reuters. “This was mainly because India reduced its purchases, leaving more cargoes available to China at lower prices.”

This has changed this month, as the United States lifted some sanctions on Russian crude to be directed to Indian buyers amid the supply crunch caused by the U.S.-Israel war with Iran. The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a general license last week for Indian refiners to buy Russian crude oil from March 5 to April 4.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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