In 2025, China became the world's top consumer of surplus crude oil. According to Reuters, imports reached a record 13.18 million barrels per day in December, up 17% from December 2024. The country's total oil surplus exceeded 1 million barrels per day, demonstrating China's key role in the global oil market.

Experts note that China is actively absorbing excess crude oil, but only under favorable price conditions. In December 2025, oil flows from storage increased significantly, causing a surplus of more than 1 million barrels per day.

China's crude oil surplus in December is estimated to have reached 2.67 million barrels per day, compared to 1.88 million barrels in November. This is the highest level since June 2020, when the country was actively buying up cheap oil during the pandemic. In annual terms, the surplus in 2025 was 1.13 million barrels per day, which is practically unchanged from 1.15 million barrels per day in 2024.

China does not disclose the exact volume of crude oil entering the strategic and commercial reserves, but analysts estimate the surplus by subtracting the volume of refined oil from the total available volume obtained through imports and domestic production. At the same time, some of the surplus may be immediately processed at refineries that are not included in the official data.

Since March 2025, China has imported oil at a faster pace than is needed for domestic consumption. The average annual import rate was 11.55 million barrels per day, up 4.4% from 2024. Domestic production increased to 4.32 million barrels per day (+1.5%) for the year. In December, total available crude oil for refineries was 17.37 million barrels per day, with refinery throughput of 14.7 million barrels per day, creating a monthly surplus of 2.67 million barrels per day.

China’s refineries processed a record 14.75 million barrels per day in 2025, exceeding the 2023 figure. Despite the capacity increase, the annual surplus remained at 1.13 million barrels per day as total available crude oil of 15.88 million barrels per day exceeded refining volumes.

Thus, China has confirmed its status as a key player in the global oil market, accumulating the world's surplus of raw materials and forming a surplus that affects price dynamics and the balance of supplies in the world.