Russia plans to raise its export duty on oil shipments by as much as 4.5%, from $303.8 a ton to 317.5 a ton, on January 1, which means that China will have to pay more for Russian oil, Xinhua News Agency reports.

In February 2009, China signed a $25 billion "loan-for-oil" deal with Russia that guaranteed China 300 million tons of crude oil for 20 years at market price.

"The Russian oil exporters tend to increase price as the duty is lifted, so China should try to persuade them to share the increased cost, said Pang Changwei, director of the Research Center of Petroleum Politics of the China University of Petroleum.

According to a conservative estimate, China must pay $69 million more for 15 million tons of light oil products a year, even if Russian exporters agree to absorb half of the increased cost.

China's business press carried the story above on Wednesday. China.org.cn has not checked the stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.