September 8, 2025

China is setting the stage to get regular shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 project, even though the United States has slapped sanctions on it. After receiving its first-ever shipment in late August, China is now choosing the Beihai terminal in southern China to bring in these special cargoes. This clever choice of a single, low-profile port helps Beijing shield the wider gas business from any backlash. People familiar with the situation say the purchases are also made through a lesser-known company to hide who is actually buying the gas. This secrecy helps avoid the wrath of the US government, which is serious about punishing those who break sanctions. Even some Chinese importers, like the state-run Cnooc, are diverting other non-sanctioned shipments away from Beihai to stay clear of trouble. Several overseas trading firms also avoid Beihai for the same reason. By continuing to accept LNG from Arctic LNG 2, China sends a strong signal it plans to stick with Moscow despite US pressure. This move risks getting tangled in Washington’s efforts to starve Russia of energy revenues during the Ukraine conflict. While the Trump administration targeted India for its oil trade with Russia, China has floated under the radar without facing similar penalties—until now. Ship-tracking data from Bloomberg reveals that a third shipment of LNG from the Arctic LNG 2 project is set to dock in southern China as early as Monday. There are at least four more ships coming, showing that this is no one-time deal. The Russian Arctic LNG 2 project faced big challenges finding buyers after Biden’s administration imposed sanctions in 2023 to choke Moscow’s money flow. Though the project started exporting last year using mysterious “dark fleet” vessels, its first foreign delivery success happened only with China. The Trump White House has not openly commented on these shipments, a sharp contrast to Biden’s team, which quickly hit companies and ships working with Arctic LNG 2 with sanctions. Chinese firms are usually careful not to upset the US, since many depend on long-term contracts with American LNG exporters. But with this move, Beijing is boldly testing how far it can go to support Russia without paying a price. (Source: Bloomberg, with help from Kathy Chen)

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Tags: Arctic lng 2, China lng imports, Russia sanctions, Us-china relations, Energy trade, Lng shipments,