Russia Quietly Ramps Up Gas Shipments to China Despite U.S. Sanctions

Russia has resumed LNG deliveries to China in defiance of U.S. sanctions, marking another step in the deepening energy partnership between Moscow and Beijing. 

The Gaze reports this, referring to Bloomberg.

Recently, a sanctioned Russian export terminal has completed its first shipment to China since Washington expanded penalties on Russia’s LNG sector in January.

Shipping data reviewed by the outlet show that the tanker Valera – which loaded a cargo of liquefied natural gas at Gazprom’s Portovaya terminal on the Baltic Sea in October – arrived at the Beihai import terminal in southern China this Monday.

Both the Valera and the Portovaya facility were blacklisted by the Biden administration in an effort to curb Moscow’s ambitions to expand LNG exports. However, China does not recognize unilateral U.S. sanctions and has increasingly purchased Russian energy products in recent months, reinforcing economic ties between the two countries.

Beijing has also dismissed broader demands from U.S. President Donald Trump to reduce imports of Russian oil – an issue expected to feature prominently in upcoming U.S.–India trade discussions this week.

Russia currently operates two relatively small LNG export plants on the Baltic Sea. The Vysotsk terminal, run by Novatek, is also under U.S. sanctions. Another sanctioned project, the Arctic LNG 2 plant in Siberia, began shipping fuel to China’s Beihai terminal in late August.

The trade continues despite attempts to mask shipment routes. Satellite imagery captured in mid-October showed a tanker loading fuel at Portovaya and transferring it to another vessel registered to a Hong Kong company operating near Malaysia. That second tanker, known as CCH Gas, has been sending false location signals and was last detected near China in November. Its current location is unclear.

The expanding energy alliance between Russia and China – built on sanctioned supply chains, deceptive shipping practices, and increasing volumes – poses a potentially destabilizing challenge to Western sanctions policy and broader global energy security.

As The Gaze reported earlier, China and Russia have conducted a third round of joint missile-defense drills, demonstrating a deepening of their military coordination amid rising global security tensions.

Read more on The Gaze: Why does China increase the supply of dual-use goods to Russia?