The near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz and actions this week by Yemen's Houthis to target Saudi tankers in the Red Sea after their declared maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia have thrown the Russia-China energy relationship in the spotlight again — with Russian crude increasingly seen as a safe bet for Chinese refiners. June flows in particular illustrate the story, with Russian supplies making up 29% of China's crude imports and Saudi supplies just 5%. But Beijing is also signaling clear limits to this relationship, both in its reluctance to supply refined products to Russia as Ukraine’s drone attacks severely crimp its refining capacity and to commit to buying more piped gas supplies from Russia.