War Sparks Disaster for China as Beijing Lobbies Tehran to Open the Strait of Hormuz

China is reportedly holding intensive talks with Iran to press for safe passage for crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) through the Strait of Hormuz. The move comes as the escalation of the US-Israel campaign against Tehran paralyses the world’s most vital shipping lane. As the world’s second-largest economy, which relies on about 45% of its oil needs from the Strait of Hormuz, China is uneasy with the Islamic Republic’s actions that disrupt shipping. Beijing is now applying diplomatic pressure for Tehran to grant a green light for tanker vessels, particularly those carrying energy supplies to its region. Three diplomatic sources told Reuters about China’s concealed agenda to lobby Tehran to safeguard its energy supply amid the war. ‘China is in talks with Iran to allow crude oil and LNG shipments from Qatar to pass through the Strait of Hormuz safely as the US-Israel war against Tehran intensifies,’ the diplomatic sources told Reuters on Friday (6 March 2026). The war, now in its sixth day, has cut global oil and LNG supplies by around a fifth, triggering crude prices to surge by more than 15%. The situation has grown more acute as Iran’s attacks begin targeting energy facilities in the Gulf and vessels transiting the strait; even the range of its missiles has reached Cyprus, Azerbaijan, and Turkey, fuelling global inflation risks. Vortexa ship-tracking data show a drastic drop in tanker transit to just four ships per day since hostilities began, far from the historical average of 24 ships per day. However, the latest reports indicate exemptions for vessels linked to China amid a total blockade of Western countries. A veteran sugar industry executive, Mike McDougall, testified about discriminatory conditions on this shipping lane based on briefings from Middle Eastern industry leaders. ‘Middle East sugar executives say there are a number of ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz at the moment, all of which are owned by China or Iran,’ McDougall told Reuters. This is underscored by the fact that the tanker ‘Iron Maiden’ managed to cross the strait last night after altering its identity signal to ‘owned by China’. Nevertheless, markets remain tense as roughly 300 oil tankers are still stranded inside the strait with no certainty about when they can exit safely. Jamal Al-Ghurair, Managing Director of Al Khaleej Sugar, based in Dubai, confirmed that transit permissions currently depend heavily on the vessel’s identity and interests. ‘Some sugar-carrying ships are allowed to pass through the Strait of Hormuz at the moment, while others are not,’ he said, without detailing the criteria for bans. To date, the Iranian government has explicitly prohibited all vessels owned by the United States, Israel, European countries, and their allies from transiting. However, in its official statement Tehran did not mention a ban on China.