China Shifts Oil Import Strategy: Record Canadian Crude Inflows Replace US Supply

Recent trade data reveals a significant rebalancing in China’s energy procurement strategy, with April 2025 figures showing unprecedented imports of Canadian crude oil. This strategic pivot coincides with a deliberate reduction in purchases from American suppliers, reflecting evolving geopolitical trade dynamics. Market analysts highlight how this realignment impacts global oil flows and pricing structures, particularly affecting WTI-Brent spreads. The move demonstrates Beijing’s commodity diversification efforts amid changing supply chain considerations, with Canadian oil sands production reaching new export capacity to meet Asian demand.

According to data from Vortexa Ltd., Chinese crude imports from the port at the pipeline terminus near Vancouver surged to 7.3 million barrels in March. On the flip side, Chinese imports of US oil have collapsed to 3 million barrels a month from a peak of 29 million in June. “Given the trade war, it’s unlikely for China to import more US oil,” Wenran Jiang, president of the Canada-China Energy & Environment Forum, told Bloomberg. “They are not going to bank on Russian alone or Middle Eastern alone. Anything from Canada will be welcome news.”

Just yesterday, oil futures turned higher after Chinese officials signaled that they might be willing to engage with the U.S. However, those talks appeared to have reversed, as now the BRICS founder is working with Canada, another victim of US tariffs. China likely isn’t going for oil from the Middle East due to oil from Alberta being inexpensive compared to the Middle East.

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While the oil price surge from China-US trade news gave a bit of relief, there are still significant challenges that remain in the market. The International Energy Agency just recently slashed its global oil consumption forecast, basically saying that supply additions will probably exceed demand. And those surprisingly large output increases that OPEC and its allies announced further complicate this whole situation. The trade war is streaming into the oil industry, causing countries like China to look for new options.