Seen here is an oil pumping unit at Huabei oil field on the outskirts of Hejian city, Hebei province, China. Russia leapfrogged Saudi Arabia to become China's top crude oil supplier in 2023, data showed on Saturday, as the world's biggest crude importer defied Western sanctions to purchase vast quantities of discounted oil for its processing plants. To support prices, Saudi Arabia and Russia, two of the world's top three oil producers, announced output and export cuts last year. Chinese refiners use intermediary traders to handle the shipping and insurance of Russian crude to avoid violating the Western sanctions. China's overall crude imports for 2023 rose to a record of 563.99 million metric tons, equivalent to 11.28 million bpd.

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Persons: Buyers, Nicolas Maduro's Organizations: ICE, U.S Locations: Russia, Hejian, Hebei province, China, Russia leapfrogged Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Ukraine, Russian, Malaysia, Iran, Venezuela, Caracas, Beijing, Washington, U.S