Before the words even landed, China struck back within less than 24 hours. On one hand, China continued to import Russian oil without hesitation; on the other, it delivered a strong diplomatic rebuttal, leaving the U.S. calculations in vain. As the trade war flickered, China used practical actions to douse the flames.On July 29, during a China-U.S. economic and trade meeting in Stockholm, Sweden, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant unveiled a tough move: Implementing secondary sanctions on all countries importing oil from Russia, particularly singling out China.If China continues to purchase energy from Russia, the U.S. will impose tariffs of up to 100% or even 500% on related Chinese companies. This is not empty threats but based on a new proposal called the “Anti-Russia Bill (S.1241)” being in the U.S. Congress. It explicitly states that tariffs will be imposed on countries and entities “assisting Russia in evading energy export restrictions.”As soon as the news broke, Western media began to hype the story, with the tone of “sanctions will extend to China” escalating. Western analysts generally believe that the U.S. wants to “bypass Russia and target China” on the diplomatic front of the Ukraine issue, aiming to cut off Russia’s funding sources by restricting energy transactions. More directly, the U.S. wants China to “surrender” in purchasing Russian oil.But the course of events turned out completely differently from what Washington had anticipated.Within less than 24 hours, China’s Foreign Ministry responded with unusual firmness at a regular press conference: “China’s energy purchases are entirely for its own development needs and reject any external interference or threats.” At the same time, it added, “coercion and pressure will only backfire.” This statement was directly quoted by Reuters as the headline. Diplomatically, China unleashed full force, while economically, it continued to advance steadily.%% According to simultaneous reports from Bloomberg and Russia’s TASS, between July 30 and 31, China’s Dalian Port, Ningbo Port, and Tianjin Port received three batches of Russian crude oil transport ships, with a total volume exceeding 2.4 million tons.Part of this was transported through the “ESPO” pipeline system, representing spot supply along the Far East route; the other portion was Urals crude oil transported via “ghost ship” methods. In other words, just as the U.S. issued a warning, China struck back with concrete actions.This response is more than just a “statement.” Why does China have the confidence to continue buying Russian oil? On one hand, it’s about price control. Russian crude discounts are nearly 15% cheaper than Middle Eastern crude, making it naturally attractive to domestic refineries. On the other hand, it’s the independence of the payment system. Most Russian oil settlements have been replaced by the “RMB+Ruble” system, bypassing the U.S. dollar framework, making U.S. sanctions ineffective against this ledger.Beyond oil, China didn’t let the U.S. off the hook diplomatically. Just as the U.S.-China trade delegations met in Sweden at the end of July, with U.S. media speculating it might “pave the way for a potential U.S.-China summit later this year,” the “paving” meeting turned into a face-to-face confrontation.The Chinese delegation directly rejected any proposals at the meeting regarding “restricting the purchase of Russian energy” and counter-proposed: “If the US imposes tariffs, China reserves the right to impose retaliatory tariffs on key exports to the US.”What does this mean? For example, if the US taxes Chinese production such as electric vehicles, batteries, and chemicals, China might also retaliate against US Boeing aircraft, soybeans, and semiconductor raw materials. The harsher the US is, the tougher China will be. This tit-for-tat attitude has also appeared in multiple Sino-US trade negotiations over the past five years. The difference this time is that the tension is more palpable.Behind this energy game, there are more complex political calculations. For the US, it is both pressuring China and serving its election interests.After Trump is re-elected as president in 2025, he is eager to fulfill his campaign promises of “US energy independence” and “countering the China-Russia alliance.” His tariff threats are a signal to domestic “hawks” and industrial capital that the US is taking the lead in the situation. But the reality is, China did not let him have his way.Russia has also taken action. The Russian Ministry of Energy stated that China remains its largest crude oil export partner, having made “strategic coordination” for order arrangements in the next three quarters. Putin’s advisor, Yuri Ushakov, also told Russian media in an interview, “US sanctions rhetoric will not change Russia’s energy cooperation plans with Asian partners.” To put it more directly, the oil route between Russia and China, no one can stop.More interestingly, against the backdrop of continuous and stable cooperation between China and Russia, some third-party countries have also “tacitly” moved closer. ONGC of India has reached a new round of exploration cooperation agreement with Gazprom; Malaysia’s Petronas has also been reported to be planning to expand its procurement of Russian Far East LNG resources.This indicates that the so-called “secondary sanctions alliance” by the US has not received much response. Instead, it has led to a certain degree of energy mutual trust between China, India, and Russia.Of course, the US has not been without retaliatory actions. On August 1, the US Department of Commerce issued a notice listing seven Chinese energy trading companies on an “observation list,” citing “alleged assistance in helping Russia evade international settlement sanctions.”This means these companies may face measures such as frozen overseas assets and SWIFT channel disruption in the future. But such tactics are no longer effective against China’s energy procurement.Data shows that China imported about 524 million barrels of crude oil from Russia in the first half of this year, a year-on-year increase of 7.6%. Meanwhile, its imports from Saudi Arabia dropped by nearly 4%.This is enough to prove that China’s energy structure is undergoing “de-dollarization,” and the importance of Russian oil in the Chinese market is becoming increasingly prominent. This trend has not reversed after the U.S. tax threat but has instead been further solidified.This “less than 24 hours” diplomatic and energy game did not end in a dramatic confrontation, but it is enough to illustrate a fact: China is not a soft target that anyone can squeeze.The more aggressive and coercive the U.S. policies, the more precise and resolute China’s response. Even facing a 100% tariff threat, China will not back down on its national energy interests.
