He said dictator Kim Jong-un’s plan to replace Chinese oil with imports from Russia has been moving ahead at full steam since 2014, when a visit from Chinese President Xi Jinping to South Korea “infuriated” Kim and prompted him to begin viewing China as an “enemy state.”

If Ri’s assessment is correct, then some of the public confusion from the Chinese government over suspended fuel sales to North Korea might be due to the reluctance of Chinese officials to admit they have lost much of their leverage over Pyongyang. BEIJING: China National Petroleum Corp has suspended sales of fuel to North Korea over concerns the state-owned oil company won't get paid, as pressure mounts on Pyongyang to rein in its nuclear and missile programmes, three sources told Reuters. Activity Overshadows US-China Meeting

Reuters’ sources said that the move was economic, and added that gambling on a future payment was no longer worth the risk as Chinese and international banks are looking closely at compliance in dealing with entities sanctioned by the U.S.

Last year China shipped over 96,000 tons of gasoline and just under 45,000 tons of diesel gas to North Korea. Data for fuel shipments to North Korea, as well as rising fuel prices in the North, suggest that China may be cutting the supply. China suspended coal shipments to North Korea in February and reportedly played an active role in convincing North Korea not to conduct another nuclear test, but there is more that can be done.
Fearing lack of payment, China National Petroleum Corporation stops selling oil to North Korea.