This week, the U.S.-Iran cease-fire collapsed, and Washington reimposed naval blockades, leading to a spike in oil prices. China, which cut crude imports by over 44% during the war, has prepared defensive measures, including an electrified taxi fleet, pipelines that bypass the strait entirely, and record clean-tech exports.
In China's major cities, hailing a taxi is often cheaper than driving one's own car. In May, people took 3.05 billion taxi and rideshare trips, up 6% from a year earlier.
For over a year, Chinese refiners bought more crude than they needed, leading to a buildup of nearly a billion barrels in strategic reserves.
This stockpile allowed China to buy time, but now the question is whether it can perform the same role again.
Now, the Strait of Hormuz accounts for only 40%-50% of China's seaborne oil imports.
