The suspension, if confirmed, would put Russia under major economic pressure to end its war on Ukraine. China is a key strategic partner of Russia and Beijing's large-scale oil purchases have aided Moscow through punishing Western sanctions related to its invasion of Ukraine. India, another big buyer of Russian oil, has also indicated it will cut purchases.
The four Chinese oil firms involved are PetroChina, Sinopec, CNOOC and Zhenhua Oil, per Reuters. Newsweek has contacted the four companies by email for comment, and also the Russian embassy in Beijing.
