China’s Heavy Reliance on Iranian Oil Imports

China, the world's largest crude importer, is the main buyer of oil from OPEC producer Iran, leaving Beijing uniquely exposed to any supply disruption from conflict in the Middle East. Beijing, which is also the biggest buyer of ...

Why the Venezuela Crisis Won’t (Seriously) Affect China’s Oil Supply

In the wake of the Trump administration’s incursion into Venezuela and its stated plan to seize the country’s oil output, the focus has swung to China’s historical role as a major buyer of Venezuelan oil. Venezuela was an early testing ...

China Denounces U.S. Intervention in Venezuela, Casting Washington as a Global Lawbreaker

Over the weekend, the Chinese government steadily intensified its denunciations of the United States over the recent military intervention in Venezuela and the arrest of President Nicolás Maduro. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Sunday blasted Washington for violating Venezuela's sovereignty and said ...

China Condemns U.S. Forcible Seizure of Venezuela’s President

China condemned the U.S. for what it called a forcible seizure of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro after U.S. strikes in Venezuela, demanding his release and warning against “world judge” behavior. Foreign Minister Wang Yi said no country should act ...

China’s Long Bet on Sudanese Oil Comes to an End

China and Sudan’s three-decade-long “oil diplomacy” has completely collapsed, a Chinese think tank said, after the leading state-owned oil firm China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) officially withdrew from its final complex in the African oil-rich but war-torn nation. The think tank ...

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

2026: Africa-China Relations in a World Shaped by North-South Geopolitics

When talking about Africa–China relations, one is always moving along a sliding scale. There are myriad interactions with Chinese entities that concern only individual African countries, segueing into trends affecting the whole continent and sliding further into global dynamics shaping the developing world, of which Africa is the heart.

The Africa-China relationship is its own thing, but Africa’s fate can’t easily be separated from factors affecting the wider Global South, ...

Cook Islands Involved in Trade of Sanctioned Oil to China?

Several tankers suspected of transporting Iranian and Russian oil to China were registered to the Cook Islands, according to an ongoing investigation by AFP. The news agency analyzed sanctions data from the U.S. and UK, and found that at least 34 ships tagged as transporting sanctioned oil in ...

East Africa Court Dismisses Activists’ Case Over Massive Franco-Chinese Oil Project

The East African Court of Justice has dismissed a case challenging TotalEnergies' massive oil project in Uganda and Tanzania, after civil society groups sought a full trial over the controversial development. Four civil society groups first filed a petition in 2020 ...

China Customs Gap Hints at Iranian Crude Oil Labeled as Indonesian

China is importing much more crude oil declared as Indonesian than Indonesia says it is exporting, customs data from both countries show. Chinese customs figures released this week show 9,81 million metric tons of crude listed as coming from Indonesia ...

India Forced to Pay Russia in Yuan, Handing China an Unexpected Win

China stands to gain from a surprising twist in global energy trade: India, long a rival and major oil importer, is now being forced to pay Russia for crude in Chinese yuan (RMB), a move that strengthens the yuan’s global role and indirectly supports China’s currency in ...

U.S. Expands Iran Sanctions, Targeting Chinese Firms Tied to Oil Shipments

The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on dozens of people, companies and ships tied to Iran's oil sector, stepping up its campaign against a key revenue source for Tehran. The Treasury announced more than 50 targets aimed at people who ...

China Races to Stockpile Cheap Oil, Expanding Strategic Reserves Amid Global Tensions

China is in the midst of a massive oil stockpiling campaign that will add at least 169 million barrels of crude to its strategic reserves over the next year. So far, 37 million barrels of storage capacity have been built at 11 ...

China to Stockpile 169 Million Barrels of Oil by 2026

China is expanding its crude oil reserves with new storage sites scheduled for completion in 2025–2026. The effort will add at least 169 million barrels of capacity across 11 locations, according to public data. China has built about ...
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