China is increasingly relying on Russian oil amid the Iran War. China’s imports of Russian oil rose by ~200,000 barrels per day in August, to ~1.6 million barrels per day, their highest since March. This marks the 3rd consecutive monthly increase, bringing the cumulative gain over that stretch to ~500,000 barrels per day. This is now above the levels seen in the last 4 months of 2025. By comparison, China imported ~2.0 million barrels per day from Russia in February. This comes as Middle East oil supplies have become more constrained and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains disrupted, prompting Chinese refiners to turn increasingly to Russian crude. Russian crude is increasingly filling the Middle East supply gap.(The Kobeissi Letter)