China Halts Russian Oil Buys Over Trump’s ‘Act of War’ Sanctions; US Claims India To Scale Back Purchase Too

In a dramatic shift that could reshape global oil flows, China’s state-owned oil giants – PetroChina, Sinopec, CNOOC, and Zhenhua Oil – have suspended purchases of seaborne Russian oil after the United States imposed sweeping sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil, Russia’s two biggest energy firms.

The move, first reported by Reuters, marks a major setback for Moscow’s oil revenues and comes as Beijing seeks to avoid secondary sanctions. Independent Chinese refiners, often called “teapots,” are also pausing purchases to assess compliance risks before possibly resuming imports.

China typically buys about 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd) of Russian oil by sea, but only around 250,000–500,000 bpd of that comes from state-run firms. With these giants stepping back, Russia may struggle to redirect supplies, potentially leading to tighter global supply and higher crude prices.

India to scale back Russian oil purchase too?

While the Indian government has made no statement on this as of yet, the White House on Friday (October 24, 2025) claimed that India is scaling back oil purchases from Russia at the request of Trump. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt’s statement came a few days after Trump claimed that India would cut down Russian oil purchases by the end of the year.

Leavitt added that China is also cutting down oil purchases from Russia. “If you read the sanctions and look at them, they are pretty hefty. I saw some international news this morning that China is scaling back oil purchases from Russia. We know India has done the same at the President’s request. President has also pushed European countries, our allies, to please stop their purchases of Russian oil as well”, Leavitt told reporters.

What triggered this escalation between US and Russia?

The suspension follows US President Donald Trump’s new sanctions package targeting Russia’s oil industry, a move that Moscow has branded an “act of war.” The sanctions, described by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as “massive measures to degrade the Kremlin’s war machine,” come after renewed Russian missile and drone attacks across Ukraine that killed at least six civilians.

Trump, however, framed the sanctions as an effort to push Putin toward negotiations, saying, “Hopefully he’ll become reasonable. It takes two to tango.”

Act of war: How Russia reacted to Trump’s “warpath”?

Former Russian President and current Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev lashed out at Trump on Telegram, accusing him of abandoning diplomacy and “fully aligning himself with insane Europe.” Calling the sanctions “an act of war against Russia,” Medvedev warned that Washington had turned the Ukraine conflict into “Trump’s war now, not the senile Biden’s.”

He also invoked Cold War-era rhetoric, referencing Moscow’s “Dead Hand” nuclear system, and mocked Trump’s decision to cancel a planned Putin-Trump summit in Budapest. The Kremlin’s fury underscores the potential for a new phase of confrontation between Washington and Moscow, as the sanctions directly hit the backbone of Russia’s economy for the first time under Trump’s administration.

Global repercussions: What impact could these sanctions have?

The combination of China’s oil import freeze and US sanctions on Russian producers is set to ripple across global energy markets. Traders expect short-term volatility and potential price spikes in Brent crude, especially if Moscow struggles to find new buyers.

For Beijing, the move highlights the growing risk of secondary sanctions on its companies. For Moscow, it signals shrinking economic maneuvering space as even long-time partners step back. NATO allies, including Secretary-General Mark Rutte, have welcomed Washington’s tough stance, calling it “exactly the type of action we needed.” But as tensions rise, the world’s two largest nuclear powers are once again trading threats and sanctions, with global markets caught in the crossfire.