China is increasingly dependent on oil imports from the Middle East, with oil from the region accounting for over 50% of China’s imports in the first quarter of 2022.
, a roadmap that outlines plans to scale up oil and gas production over the next three years, while also ramping up its investment in green energy. But despite strong results, China is producing nowhere near enough oil to meet the needs of its huge population and rapidly expanding industrial operations. In the first quarter of 2022, China’s reliance on Middle East crude increased significantly, following a reduction of imports from Russia, Brazil, and the U.S.
And, this month, Chinese leader Xi Jinping took a trip to Saudi Arabia for the first time in around seven years to solidify the two countries’ energy relationship. Xi signed aduring the visit, as well as meeting several other Middle Eastern leaders to discuss the future of its oil imports. This trip made it clear that China intends to maintain its close relations with Saudi Arabia to ensure its energy security.
But some worry that this heavy dependence on one region – and one state power in particular – could make China vulnerable, which may have a knock-on effect on the rest of the world, which depends on China for a multitude of products. Strict export quotas introduced by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries have already caused the U.S. to condemn Saudi Arabia’s control of world oil markets. And oil production cuts could threaten China’s supply.
Another vulnerability for China is the way in which it retrieves its oil from the Middle East, mainly relying on oil tankers to deliver its crude due to a lack of pipeline infrastructure. China’s actions in Taiwan have drawn opposition from several world powers. Meanwhile, its oil tankers must traverse the Indian Ocean, through the Straits of Malacca, and up the South China Sea.
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