How China Seemingly Weathered The Iran War Oil Storm

August 10, 2026 8:38 AM ET China played the long game, and now that strategy is seemingly paying off as the rest of the world feels the Iran War’s worst oil shocks.The Iran War triggered global disruption when the closure of the Strait of Hormuz hit oil markets, shutting off a transit route for roughly 20% of the world’s petroleum. But Beijing seems to have felt less of a pinch, capitalizing on its massive oil stockpile and energy investments.“China has been able to weather the oil-market disruption caused by the war with Iran because it holds an estimated 1.5 billion barrels in reserve,” Steve H. Hanke, professor of Applied Economics at Johns Hopkins University, told the Daily Caller News Foundation.China spent 2025 adding an average of 1.1 million barrels a day to its strategic oil inven