China is now the world’s great oil power
During the Iran-war supply shock, China cut crude imports by 5.5m barrels a day—enough, analysts estimate, to reduce Brent by $30 or more—without tipping its economy into recession. Beijing combined stock drawdowns, curbs on refined-product exports and lower domestic fuel demand, helped by electric transport, rail and industrial overcapacity. This gives the world’s largest importer OPEC-like influence over prices for months, though its inventories and ability to suppress demand are finite.
Why it matters
China’s electrification is becoming geopolitical market power, not merely climate or industrial policy—a useful frame for analysing energy-transition companies and national resilience.
Read the full article: The Economist
