Battlefield China in Russo-Saudi tussle

Russia and Saudi Arabia have largely buried, rather than settled, their issues. China is a microcosm of the ongoing tension

Saudi Arabia may have, albeit at very painful cost, re-established itself as top dog in global energy geopolitics. But its naked rivalry with Russia is just on the backburner—as all producers try to deal with the fallout from Covid-19—rather than permanently put to bed. The two heavyweights’ informal market-share competition continues, and the competition in China is perhaps its best example. While Riyadh managed to sell a record 2.16mn bl/d to Beijing in May (an increase of 95pc year-on-year and 71pc month-on-month), beating Moscow to the title of top supplier to the world’s largest oil and gas importer, few believe the race is over. Russia typically relies on pipelines and fixed long-term