China was preparing for Trump: oil imports from the US fell to zero

After Donald Trump came to the White House, China began to reduce oil imports from the United States. It dropped to almost zero.

"The supply of crude oil to China in the first months of this year amounted to about 1% of the country's imports. Purchases by the world's largest importer from the world's largest exporter will be reduced to almost zero as the trade war between the two giant economies escalates," Bloomberg writes.

The agency noted that in previous years, deliveries had increased, but with the arrival of Donald Trump, they began to decline.

"Beijing's retaliatory measures, which raised tariffs on imports from the United States to 84%, as well as the latest increase in US duties for China to 125%, only further darken the picture," Bloomberg continues.

Duties on goods from the USA to China has reached 84% and the purchase of American oil is becoming unprofitable for Chinese refineries, said Ivan Matthews, head of the Asia-Pacific analytical department at Vortexa. He believes that the dropped volumes of raw materials from the United States can find consumers in India and Japan. At the same time, China will increase purchases of sanctioned cargo from Russia and Iran. Also, Chinese companies can receive additional volumes from other countries of the Persian Gulf.

Despite the fact that the United States has become the largest exporter of oil, its share in China's imports in recent years has been small. It did not exceed 3%, and the supplies themselves amounted to 300 thousand barrels per day, while Russia, the main supplier, exported 2.2 million barrels per day to China in 2024, according to the information office of the US Department of Energy (EIA).