China is seeking to end the war while maintaining its relations with Iran

Author, Saeed Jafri Designation, Political Analyst and Author, Grace Tsoi Designation, WSL Global Journalism Published 2 minutes ago Reading Time: 7 minutes

A few days before Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to America, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had reached Beijing. This emphasizes how much influence China has on Iran.

The Iran war is one of the most important issues in the meeting between Trump and Xi Jinping.

China's stance has not changed since the Iran war started seven months ago. He has condemned the attacks by America and Israel on Iran. China has also opposed America's sanctions against Iran.

Along with this, China has been continuously demanding an end to the war. He especially wants the Strait of Hormuz to be reopened.

China is dependent on imports for its energy needs. It has huge oil reserves. For this reason, till now it has been able to handle the impact of the Iran war to a great extent.

China wants to stay in safe zone

Andrea Gizzelli, an expert on China and Middle East affairs at Britain's University of Exeter, says that China can handle this situation for a long time. But its financial burden will increase with the passage of time.

According to him, China wants to end the war, but it will also have to take care of its other international priorities.

Dr. Gizeli says, "China does not want this conflict to create problems in its relations with America. But it will not take any such step that will harm Iran's basic interests and demands."

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He says, "The thinking of Iran and China is generally the same. Both believe that this war started due to the aggressive actions of America and Israel and is continuing till now."

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Hamidreza Azizi of International Crisis Group says that China is a big consumer of energy. Therefore, he is suffering losses due to the continuation of the war.

According to a 2025 report by the US Energy Information Administration, oil accounts for about one-fifth of the total energy used in China. But China buys more than 70 percent of its oil needs from other countries.

Last year, China bought about 14 lakh barrels of oil every day from Iran. This was only 12 percent of China's total crude oil imports. At the same time, the share of the rest of the countries of the Middle East was 42 percent.

China has compensated some of the shortfall in oil received from Iran and other Gulf countries by purchasing oil from Russia, Brazil and other exporting countries. But finding another alternative to the gas from this area will be much more difficult.

The total amount of oil that China has is kept confidential. However, it is estimated that in 2025 it had reserves of 100 to 140 crore barrels of oil.

Erica Downs, who researches China's energy policies at Columbia University in America, says, "If China had about 1.4 billion barrels of oil stored at the time of the war, then in 2025, based on imports from the Middle East, this oil could last for 254 days."

He says that China's oil reserves can last even longer, because despite the war, some oil from the Middle East is still reaching China.

However, according to Clyde Russell, who writes on Asian commodities for Reuters, China has had to withdraw oil from its oil reserves in three of the last four months. These also include August.

Dr. Downs says, "Beijing would like to stop using its oil reserves as soon as possible, so that it has enough oil left for any future needs."

If the Iran-backed Houthis increase attacks on Saudi Arabia and tighten their grip on the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the turmoil in the world's energy markets could increase further.

The economic problems arising from the Iran war can also lead the world towards an economic crisis. If this happens, it will be bad news for China's economy, which is heavily dependent on exports.

China's economic growth rate is slowing down since 2019. The world's second largest economy is struggling with problems like property crisis, trade tensions with western countries and increasing debt of local governments.

According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank, the contribution of net exports to China's GDP growth last year was 32.7 percent. This was the highest level since 1997.

People in China are still spending less. In such a situation, export remains the biggest support for its economic progress.

The war has now reached such a stage where neither side seems to be moving forward. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is continuously increasing economic pressure on Iran.

Washington has warned that sanctions may also be imposed on companies, banks and countries that help Iran's economy.

America has imposed sanctions on many Chinese companies and institutions. But till now it has not targeted the big banks of China. America is taking this precaution at a time when trade tensions between Washington and Beijing are higher than before.

Beijing has not publicly accepted Washington's demand to join the economic campaign against Iran.

China says it opposes "unlawful and unilateral sanctions." It also says that its cooperation with Iran is within the scope of international law.

China will not stop buying oil from Iran under American pressure

Azizi, an expert on Iran affairs, says that China will not stop buying Iranian oil due to American pressure.

He says, "China does not want to allow such an example in which America can put pressure on Chinese companies and banks to implement its policies."

However, due to America's maritime blockade, it has become very difficult for Iran to deliver oil to China.

In March, Iran was exporting 2 million barrels of oil every day. In August it came down to between 2 lakh 20 thousand to 2 lakh 55 thousand barrels per day.

According to Reuters, America restarted the maritime blockade on July 14. Since then, no ship carrying Iranian crude oil has been able to reach China from Hormuz.

Mohammad Ghaedi, an expert on Iran affairs at America's George Washington University, says that if the blockade continues, trade between Iran and China will gradually be limited to land routes.

But sending goods through land routes is more expensive than sea routes. Very few goods can also be sent through these routes.

China wants to reduce the impact of financial sanctions. But this does not mean that it is in a position to challenge the maritime blockade or wants to do so.

If China tries to break this blockade, the conflict between Beijing and Washington could become more serious. There is no indication yet that China's leadership is ready to pay the price.

Dr. Gizeli says that China has made it clear that it wants to end the war through talks. According to him, China will probably stop Iran from escalating the war further.

He says, "China can and probably will help in restarting the talks. It can also put pressure on Iran to make some concessions. This will allow President Trump to claim some kind of victory and use it as a reason to end the war."

We used AI to translate this article, which was originally written in English. A BBC journalist checked this translation before publication. Learn more about how we're using AI.

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