Chinese refineries have submitted new orders for Russian crude oil that will be shipped from ports that usually supply India, as demand for Moscow slow oil decreases after US President Donald Trump notes.

According to analysts, Chinese refineries have secured at least 15 loads of Russian oil for delivery in October and November.

China and India have emerged as the leading Russian oil buyers after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which prompted Western countries to avoid its exports.

In July, Trump threatened to impose secondary duties on products from countries importing Russian oil in order to press Moscow to end the war in Ukraine.

Earlier this month, it announced an additional 25% duty on Indian exports to the US, in addition to another 25% duty, for imports of Russian oil and gas. This led India to a sharp decline in its markets.

Until last week, China’s state and large private refinery companies had bought about 13 loads of Western Russian crude oil for delivery in October and at least two loads for November, according to Muyu Xu, a senior crude oil analyst in Kpler, which monitors.

The 15 oil loads, each usually ranging from 700,000 to 1 million barrels, will be loaded by Russia’s ports to the Arctic and Black Sea – supplies that usually go to India instead of China, given its distance, Xu said.

Reuters said earlier this week that China had secured 15 Russian loads for the same period, citing analysts.

Xu said the market was reflecting a “opportunistic” move, as the price of Russian oil remained at least 3 dollars cheaper per barrel than the alternatives of the Middle East.

“As to whether China will continue to buy, I personally believe that it is still a very good opportunity right now, because in India Trump is still putting intense pressure,” he said.

On Friday, following his historic meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump told Fox News that he was not directly considering the imposition of compensatory duties in China to buy Russian oil, but implied that he could do so in two or three weeks.

Last year, India introduced oil and slow oil worth $ 53 billion from Russia, according to figures gathered by the United Nations.

Prior to recent cuts, Russian supplies represented 36% of the Indian market, making the country the largest source of crude oil, according to Vortexa, an action company.

China has also increased imports of Russian oil with a discount from Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Russia provides 13.5% of China’s crude oil imports. Last year, China introduced Russian oil worth $ 62.6 billion, according to UN data.

Xu said it is unlikely that China would cover the deficit in India’s Russian oil markets, as India buys about 1.7 million barrels a day from Russia, while China only buys about 1.2 million barrels of Russian oil.

“If India continues to postpone markets, this will be a real problem for Russia – China simply cannot take over all of India’s volume,” he said.