As the world’s biggest oil importer, the Iran war poses a significant threat to China. But Beijing has been preparing for a crisis like this for years and is well positioned to turn the conflict into an advantage in the race for global economic supremacy.
Last year, China imported about half of its crude oil and almost one-third of its liquefied natural gas from the Middle East. But it has aggressively built up strategic stockpiles of fossil fuels. China is estimated to hold the world’s largest emergency reserves of petroleum, totalling 1.3bn barrels.
Even so, Iran has said vessels linked to “non-hostile” partners — which includes Beijing — can traverse the Strait of Hormuz. Almost half of China’s imported gas is piped from Russia and Turkmenistan on long-term contracts. Moreover, the Chinese Communist Party has already leveraged its centralised power to restrict exports from the country’s refineries, and could use it to hold down prices and pivot to alternative energy sources too.