Russian oil exports to China soar to record

STORY: Russia became China's biggest supplier of oil in May.

Crude oil imports from there soared 55% from a year before to a record level.

It means Moscow has now retaken the top spot from Saudi Arabia as the top supplier to its eastern neighbor.

Imports of Russian oil hit just over 8.4 million tonnes, according to official data.

That's just under 2 million barrels per day.

It shows Russia can find buyers for its oil despite western sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine - which it calls a 'special military operation'.

However, Moscow has had to slash its crude prices - a move that appears to have attracted major Chinese buyers like Sinopec.

The crude deals also highlights the ties between the two countries.

In February, when Russia's invasion began, they said their friendship had 'no limits'.

China's overall demand has been slowed by health crisis curbs and a slowing economy.

Despite that, it wasn't just oil China bought heavily from Russia.

Data showed it also brought into almost 400,000 tonnes of liquefied natural gas last month - 56% more than a year before.