After US forces arrested Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has now been killed. These two military actions not only deprived China of strategic partners in South America and the Middle East, but also hit what is much more important for Beijing – oil, writes CNN.
Venezuela and Iran supply China with most of their crude oil. According to data from the analytical company Kpler, more than half of Venezuela’s and almost all of Iran’s crude oil exports last year probably ended up in China. Their shipments together accounted for about 15 percent of China’s total oil imports, according to CNN calculations based on data from Columbia University’s Center for Global Energy Policy.
China as the biggest loser
Rob Thummel, a portfolio manager at Tortoise Capital, believes that China could be the big loser in the Iran conflict because it produces significantly less oil than it consumes. “Higher prices could affect economic growth, but physical supply is even more important because China depends on crude oil imports to sustain its economy,” he said.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called the US-Israeli attack on Iran “unacceptable” and condemned the “obvious assassination of a sovereign leader and incitement to regime change”. However, Beijing has not yet announced the possible economic consequences.
In addition to disruptions in oil supply, China and other Asian economies also face possible logistical problems if traffic through the Strait of Hormuz – a key maritime route for crude oil from countries such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait – is closed or disrupted, reports Index.hr.
Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency reported that the tanker, which was hit on Sunday after attempting to “unauthorized passage through the Strait of Hormuz”, was sinking after sustaining damage. Iran, which controls the northern side of the strait, has previously threatened to block passage through the waterway during the conflict with the US. Analysts warn that closing the Strait of Hormuz or major traffic disruptions would cause a major global energy crisis.
(Vijesti.ba)
