China has overtaken Germany as the biggest buyer of Russian energy exports since the start of the war in Ukraine, the independent Center for Energy Research and Air Cleanliness said on Monday.
According to him, Russia has received about 93 billion euros ($97 billion) in revenue from the sale of oil, natural gas and coal since Feb. 24, when it invaded Ukraine.
About 61% of the value of these fossil fuels, or 57 billion euros, was exported to the European Union during the first 100 days of the conflict, according to the Helsinki-based group.
This included 12.1 billion euros of exports to Germany, 7.8 billion euros to Italy, the same amount to the Netherlands, and 4.4 billion euros to Poland, according to the group.
Germany, which was Russia’s biggest importer of fossil fuels during the first two months of the war, moved into second place, with China taking the lead by buying some 12.6 billion euros of energy from Moscow.
The move reflects the growing importance of China and other non-EU economies to Russia’s energy exports, which account for around 40% of Russia’s federal budget, the center points out.
Source: CNN Brasil
