India, which has continued to maintain its decades-old relationship with Russia, has also been a major buyer of its discounted oil since the invasion.
Russia’s share of India’s total oil imports hit a record high of 44% in June 2023, according to the Bank of Baroda, external, an Indian state-controlled lender.
In 2023, China also imported eight million tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from Russia, a 77% increase from 2021.
The two countries also plan to expand energy ties, including a new pipeline – called the Power of Siberia 2 – to export natural gas from Russia’s western Siberia region to north-eastern China.
China already receives gas from Russia through the original Power of Siberia pipeline, which has been in use since 2019.