The war between Israel, the USA and Iran and the actual closure of the Strait of Ormuz caused a shock in global energy markets. However, China, unlike many another oil import-dependent countries, seems to be highly well prepared for this scenario. Beijing has been pursuing a unique energy strategy for years, which is to become independent of American supplies and to build powerful strategical reserves.
Over a billion barrels in reserve
A key component of Chinese defence strategy are gigantic oil reserves. According to estimates by the U.S. agency EIA and an analytical company Kayrros, in December 2025 Chinese oil stocks (both state and commercial) reached a level of nearly 1.4 billion barrels.
This allows China to meet its home request for about 120-130 days without the request to import – subject to the suspension of exports of refined products.
In consequence to the outbreak of the Ormuz crisis, Beijing immediately introduced specified a ban on fuel exports, securing its own marketplace at the expense of its trading partners in Southeast Asia and Australia.
| Largest oil reserves in the planet (December 2025) | Volume (million barrels) |
| China (state + commercial) | 1 397 |
| USA (state SPR only) | 413 |
| Japan (State only) | 263 |
| OECD Europe | 179 |
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)
Diversification and “floating warehouses”
Although about 45-50% of oil imports to China flow through the Strait of Ormuz, Beijing has a number of alternatives at its disposal. In 2025 China imported 42% of its oil from the mediate East (including Saudi Arabia and Iraq), but besides managed to diversify its supply by pipelines.
The East Siberia-Ocean Pacific pipeline (ESPO) and pipelines from Kazakhstan deliver hundreds of thousands of barrels a day to China. Additionally, there are over 46 million barrels of Iranian oil in “floating warehouses” and customs warehouses available to Chinese independent refineries (so-called “teapots”) in Asian ports (including Dalian and Zhoushan).
Dilemma and geopolitical opportunity
However, the crisis in the Ormuz Strait reveals a deeper dilemma in Chinese energy policy. On the 1 hand, as John Calabrese notes in The Diplomat, China's energy safety yet inactive depends on maritime transit routes whose safety lies beyond Beijing's control. On the another hand, conflict can accelerate Chinese energy transformation.
“The conflict may confirm the legitimacy of Chinese efforts to increase energy self-sufficiency, including expanding home oil and gas extraction, while continuing orderly departure from fossil fuels”, says Erica Downs of Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University.
For Beijing, the current crisis is not only a challenge, but besides an chance to strengthen its position as a “energy superpower”, which, through dominance in RES technologies and giant natural materials reserves, builds opposition to geopolitical shocks.
This is besides another example confirming the thesis I included in the book “China Fortress”. I have the impression that our decision-makers are completely unaware of it. But I can be wrong, can't I?
Source:
- The Diplomat, “The Hormuz Crisis and China’s Energy safety Dilemma” (12 May 2026)
- Columbia University SIPA, “Implications of the Conflict in the mediate East for China’s Energy Security” (4 March 2026)
- EIA, “China, the United States, and Japan hold most strategical oil in 2025” (20 April 2026)
- Atlantic Council, “How the Iran war could shift energy policies around the world” (3 April 2026)
Leszek B. Glass
Email: [email protected]
