BEIJING — On Monday, China emphasized that it possesses adequate energy resources as the Iran conflict disrupts oil shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, with U.S. President Donald Trump urging Beijing to assist in securing this vital route.
According to Fu Linghui, spokesperson for the National Bureau of Statistics, China’s energy supply remains “relatively robust,” providing a “relatively solid” base to cope with external market fluctuations, as communicated to the media in Mandarin Chinese, translated by CNBC.
The bureau also revealed that China’s domestic crude oil output increased by 1.9% year-on-year to 35.73 million metric tons during January and February.
Trump mentioned on Sunday that China should contribute to efforts to restore oil supplies through the Hormuz route before his intended visit to Beijing at the close of this month, as reported by The Financial Times. He also indicated a potential delay in his travel plans to China.
Oil prices have spiked above $100 a barrel, nearing 4-year highs as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has been hampered for most nations since the onset of the Iran conflict more than two weeks ago. Nonetheless, Iran has delivered over 11 million barrels of oil to China via the strait in that timeframe.
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Trump asserted that Beijing should help maintain oil transportation through the strait since China depends on 90% of its oil from this route, the report indicated.
However, analysts have suggested that China only relies on the strait for approximately 40% to 50% of its maritime oil imports, noting that shipments through Hormuz make up just 6.6% of China’s overall energy consumption.
As of January, Beijing was estimated to possess 1.2 billion barrels of onshore crude reserves, among the largest in the world, sufficient to satisfy demand for three to four months.
