Since late August 2025, China has taken delivery of at least 24 liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments from two sanctioned Russian facilities, Arctic LNG 2 and Portovaya. This underscores increased cooperation between China and Russia as the Kremlin seeks to boost LNG exports in order to fund its war in Ukraine.
A cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia's Portovaya plant was delivered to the Beihai terminal in China on December 8, 2025.
This shipment to China was highly significant: it was the first delivery since the Portovaya plant was placed under US sanctions in January 2025. It's also a sign of increased cooperation between China and Russia.
LNG is natural gas that is cooled to minus 160 centigrade for transportation in liquid form. Russia has large reserves of natural gas and is making a major effort to boost its exports.
These exports are an important source of funding for Russia's war on Ukraine. That is why the United States has imposed sanctions on certain Russian LNG plants, including Portovaya and the major project Arctic LNG 2.
One million tons of sanctioned Russian LNG shipped to China
To circumvent sanctions, Russia created a so-called "dark fleet" of LNG tankers to surreptitiously transport its gas around the world. Eight LNG shipments were loaded at the Arctic LNG 2 terminal in 2024, but the sanctions meant they had no buyers. The LNG stayed on board the tankers or was offloaded onto floating storage units.
Then, on August 15, as US President Donald Trump sat down with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, several LNG tankers started moving. One of the tankers, the Arctic Mulan, delivered its LNG to the Beihai terminal in late August.
In all, at least 23 shipments from the Arctic LNG 2 plant were delivered to Beihai between August 28, 2025, and January 4, 2026, allowing more than one million tons of LNG to reach China, according to data by global real-time data and analytics provider Kpler.
‘The main point is political’
But why is this LNG so attractive to China? Kjell Eikland, managing director at Eikland Energy, an energy consultancy, told the FRANCE 24 Observers team:
“There are two main benefits [for China]. One is that they get access to very cheap LNG. It is discounted by 30 to 40 percent. The second one is that it reinforces the cooperation on the political level between Russia and China.
For Russia, the main point is mainly political. Russia wants to prove that they can actually do business even if they have severe sanctions imposed against them.”
Read our full story in the article below:
Read more'They're no longer hiding': How Russia is shipping liquefied natural gas to China despite sanctions
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