China's independent refiners secretly buying Russian oil at steep discount

At a time when Western countries are mulling an embargo on Russian oil amid its military operations in Ukraine, China's independent refiners are discreetly buying Russian oil at steep discounts.
As per UK media reports, an independent refinery based in Shandong in eastern China said the refinery has not publicly reported deals with Russian oil suppliers since the start of Moscow's operations in Ukraine to avoid US sanctions, reported Sputnik.
According to the official, state-owned commodity trading firms gave the refinery some of the purchased quotas for Russian crude oil. State trading companies have mostly declined to sign new supply contracts.

The media report said it was the way for some importers to bypass traditional routes to access cheap Russian oil and made it possible for Beijing to maintain a low profile amid the West's policy to roll out more and more anti-Russian sanctions, reported Sputnik.

This comes amid reports of deepening China-Russia ties in the aftermath of the Russia-Ukraine war and the widening rift between Beijing and the West.

Moreover, China is willing to help out Russia is facing western sanctions brought on by the invasion of Ukraine but only to that extent where it does not face sanctions and its internal food security is not compromised.

Western countries announced a series of new sanctions against Russia over Moscow's special military operation in Ukraine, and Europe has begun to voice statements about the need to reduce dependence on Russian energy resources more intensively. The course to reject oil and gas supplies from Russia is actively supported by the United States, which calls on alternative producers to increase their production, reported Sputnik.