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<\/a><\/p>\nLast year, China boosted its crude oil imports to an annual all-time high. The record imports came despite weak transportation fuel demand and struggles on some fronts in the Chinese economy amid the constantly changing U.S. tariff policy and chaotic global markets, including commodity markets, which reacted to many geopolitical flashpoints.<\/p>\n
Going forward, China has room for even more stockpiling and could continue to amass crude in storage tanks to try to insulate itself from further market and geopolitical disruptions with an erratic U.S. President and uncertain American foreign and trade policy.<\/p>\n
The pace of China\u2019s storage builds will largely depend on the price of oil. Data compiled from official import and refinery processing figures have shown in recent years that Beijing has a certain price point \u2013 at about high $70s-$80 per barrel \u2013 beyond which it slows down crude stockpiling.<\/p>\n
But with oil in the $60s, and falling official selling prices of Middle Eastern crudes versus regional benchmarks, China doesn\u2019t hesitate to buy much more crude than its immediate oil demand numbers would suggest.<\/p>\n
China Stockpiling Hit Multi-Year High in December <\/p>\n
In December 2025, China is estimated to have amassed the highest crude volumes in one month since June 2020, when the COVID pandemic and the resulting lockdowns hit oil demand and crashed prices.<\/p>\n
Unlike the United States, China does not report inventories. Analysts are looking at overall supply (domestic production plus imports) and refinery processing rates to estimate how much crude is going into strategic or commercial reserves and how much is being processed into fuels.<\/p>\n
The difference between total supply and refinery throughput is generally considered to have gone into storage. This figure soared to a 2.67 million barrels per day (bpd) stockpiling rate in December, compared to 1.88 million bpd in November, according to official data crunched by Reuters columnist Clyde Russell<\/a>.<\/p>\n December was the culmination of a trend that had started in March and April 2025, when China accelerated crude stockpiling. This view of China\u2019s increased stockpiling was supported by the fact that China\u2019s immediate oil demand remained lackluster while imports continued to rise.<\/p>\n Crude oil imports into China last year hit the highest ever<\/a>, reaching 11.55 million bpd, up by 4.4% compared to 2024, official Chinese data showed earlier this month.<\/p>\n The December total was also a record high, at an average of 13.18 million bpd.<\/p>\n Since April 2025, China\u2019s crude stockpiling has supported international oil prices into the $60-$70 a barrel range, despite trade wars, concerns about the economy, and soaring supply from both OPEC+ and non-OPEC+ exporters.<\/p>\n The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) also sees China\u2019s stockpiling as supporting oil prices. The EIA\u00a0estimated<\/a>\u00a0crude oil inventories in China increased by about 900,000 bpd between January and August 2025, \u201cessentially acting as a source of demand by removing barrels from the global markets.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n China\u2019s Crude Stockpiling Will Be Key Market Driver in 2026\u00a0 <\/p>\n Going forward, China\u2019s crude stockpiling will be one of the top oil market drivers this year, together with geopolitics and sanctioned supply, U.S. crude supply trends, and OPEC+ moves, according to Kpler.<\/p>\n