As part of its recent $9.1 billion investment in Russian oil giant Rosneft, little-known CEFC China Energy will have access to up to 260,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Russian oil – giving it the sort of market clout to potentially challenge dominant Western oil traders like Vitol.

For China, the world’s top crude importer, having access to Russian oil would be a big step towards its ambition to create a globally integrated oil supply chain, according to Reuters.

The CEFC deal comes in parallel to a Chinese offer to buy a 5 percent stake in Saudi Aramco, the world’s biggest crude oil exporter. CEFC announced plans last month to buy a stake of more than 14 percent in Rosneft, the world’s largest listed oil producer, from a consortium of Glencore (GLEN.L) and the Qatar Investment Authority.

Rosneft declined comment on the matter, but a CEFC spokesman said on Tuesday that under the agreement Rosneft agreed to sell the Chinese firm 11-13 million tonnes of Russian crude a year, starting in 2018. That equates to 220,000-260,000 bpd, about 5 percent of Rosneft’s output and a quarter of China’s monthly imports from Russia.

The offtake deal would eventually rise to 42 million tonnes (840,000 bpd), which CEFC will get through its equity investment.