China to continue conducting normal trade with Russia: govt spokesperson

China and Russia will continue to conduct normal trade cooperation in the spirit of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit, Beijing's foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said in a press conference on Feb. 28.

Wang's comments were in response to reporters' questions about whether China will support Russia by buying more energy and other commodities, according to a transcript of the event released by the government late Feb. 28.

The comments underscore the Chinese government's position in the current crisis even as western sanctions seek to disconnect Russia from the global financial system and oil majors like BP and Shell wind down exposure to Russian oil and gas investments.

Canada announced late Feb. 28 a ban on the import of Russian oil, making it the first G7 nation to impose an embargo and UK transport secretary Grant Shapps said on Monday that Russian vessels will be banned from British ports.

"China does not agree with resolving issues with sanctions, still less unilateral sanctions that lack the basis of international law. Reality has long proven that sanctions not only fail to resolve problems, but will create new ones," Wang said in response to a question about Russia being disconnected from the SWIFT financial messaging system.

"We demand that the US side, in handling the Ukraine issue and relations with Russia, shall not harm the legitimate rights and interests of China and other sides concerned," he said in response to another question.

China has a relatively high dependence on Russian energy supplies and cutting back would hurt its energy security goals. Its unwillingness to comply with Western sanctions means it is likely to be a conduit for Russia to sell its commodities in the global market and maintain trade flows, while allowing Chinese firms to pick up distressed Russian commodities at discounted rates.

Russia is the third-largest natural gas supplier to China, including both pipeline gas and LNG. Russian natural gas accounted for around 10% of China's total gas imports of 121 million mt in 2021, against 25.9% and 19.8% from Australia and Turkmenistan, respectively, according to China's General Administration of Customs.

China imported 12.145 million mt of natural gas from Russia, comprising 4.61 million mt of LNG and 7.54 million mt of pipeline gas in 2021. The total volume rose 51% year on year, with LNG imports falling 9.8%, while pipeline gas imports rose 154%.

Russia is the second-largest crude supplier to China after Saudi Arabia. It delivered 1.6 million b/d of crude in 2021, customs data showed, down 4.6% year on year. But Russia's share increased slightly to 15.5% from 15.4% in 2020. China cut overall crude imports by 5.1% to 10.3 million b/d in 2021.