India, China move to set up buyers’ bloc as uncertainties grip energy markets
New Delhi: India and China are working towards establishing a buyers’ bloc to bargain collectively for crude oil purchases amid escalating tensions in the Persian Gulf. Li Fanrong, deputy administrator of China’s National Energy Administration, visited New Delhi last month as part of a high-level Chinese delegation to participate in the 6th India-China Strategic Economic Dialogue, said several Indian government officials.
Li had visited New Delhi in March also, following India’s petroleum secretary M.M. Kutty’s visit to Beijing in last year October. China and India are the world’s second and third largest crude oil importer, respectively.
