Faced with tensions in the Middle East and risks to global energy supplies, Beijing has asked its main oil refiners to suspend fuel exports in order to secure their domestic market.
ccording to Ouest-France, which relays information from the Bloomberg agency, Beijing officially asked its main oil refiners to suspend their exports of diesel and gasoline on Thursday, March 5. A decision based on the situation in the Middle East, where the war poses the risk of a shortage with the blocking of maritime traffic at the Strait of Hormuz.
Located between the Indian Ocean and the Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz is strategic for China, which has become dependent on crude oil from the region. Indeed, 57% of China’s crude oil imports came from the Middle East in 2025, according to the analysis firm Kpler.
A suspension requested « with immediate effect »
According to Bloomberg, officials from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China’s economic planning body, met with representatives of refineries. They asked them to temporarily suspend shipments of refined products « with immediate effect« . « Refiners have been asked to stop signing new contracts and negotiate the cancellation of shipments already agreed, » the agency said.
Oil companies such as Sinopec, Sinochem Group and PetroChina, as well as the private refiner Zhejiang Petrochemical, regularly enter into agreements with the government to obtain fuel export quotas.
source : capital
