China tells oil refiners to suspend exports over Middle East crisis – Report

China tells oil refiners to suspend exports over Middle East crisis – Report

China has told its largest oil refiners to suspend exports of diesel and gasoline, Bloomberg News reported Thursday, citing unidentified sources, as the war in the Middle East risks an energy supply crunch.

China is a net importer of oil and is one of several major Asian economies that depend on the vital Strait of Hormuz for energy. Traffic through the strait is currently blocked.

The Middle East was the source of 57 percent of China’s direct seaborne crude imports in 2025, according to analytics firm Kpler.

Officials from China’s top economic planner, the National Development and Reform Commission, met with refinery representatives “and verbally called for a temporary suspension of refined product shipments that would begin immediately”, Bloomberg said Thursday, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter.

“The refiners were asked to stop signing new contracts and to negotiate the cancellation of already-agreed shipments,” it said.

A spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry denied knowledge of the suspension when asked about it at a regular news conference.

PetroChina, Sinopec, CNOOC, Sinochem Group and private refiner Zhejiang Petrochemical regularly obtain fuel export quotas from the government, Bloomberg said.

The companies did not respond to AFP’s requests for comment.

AFP