Iran’s paralysis of the Strait of Hormuz has continued to upend global oil and gas markets as the United States-Israeli war on the country enters its second month.After US President Donald Trump pledged to continue aggressive strikes on Iran for another two to three weeks in a speech on Wednesday night, oil prices surged further.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listBrent crude prices jumped about 5 percent to $106.16 per barrel on Thursday morning compared with Wednesday, when the price was $104.86 per barrel. Earlier this week, it surpassed $116.Many countries have begun tapping into strategic oil reserves in a bid to ease the effects of an economic crisis.But China appears to have largely insulated itself from the oil crisis, even though the country is heavily reliant on Iran for oil. Here’s what we know.Is China immune to the oil crisis?Not entirely. China gets more than half of its oil from the Middle East, especially Iran. According to data from Kpler, China bought more than 80 percent of Iran’s shipped oil in 2025. China’s imports of Iranian crude were 1.4 million barrels of oil per day (mbd) in 2025, out of a total 10.4mbd seaborne crude imports.When the US and Israel commenced strikes on Iran on February 28, and Tehran blocked the Strait of Hormuz through which about 20 percent of global oil and gas passes just hours later, Beijing was already prepared to cope with an energy crisis, as it had been preparing for years. In 2021, while visiting an oilfield in the country, Chinese President Xi Jinping stated that the country would take its energy supply matters “into its own hands”. Advertisement Since then, one of the key tactics the country has used to secure its oil supply is through “teapot refineries” – smaller, independe …
