13/04/2026

BIZ & FINANCE MONDAY | APR 13, 2026

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BEIJING: China’s long-term strategy of diversifying energy sources and building stockpiles is helping it weather disruptions from the Iran war, although some sectors still face major snags, analysts say. China is a net importer of oil and more than half of its seaborne crude came from the Middle East last year, according to analytics firm Kpler. The conflict triggered by Israel and the United States against Iran has halted almost all shipments from the Gulf area for six weeks now, with a shaky ceasefire deal struck this week extremely unlikely to lead to an immediate recovery. However, Beijing’s long-running prioritisation of energy security has left it well-prepared for such shocks, analysts told AFP. A “general concern about the geopolitical situation” in recent years has spurred Chinese leaders to ensure sufficient storage construction and stockpiling of strategic reserves, said Muyu Xu, senior oil analyst at Kpler. Those efforts mean China now sits in a far better position than several of its Asian neighbours, such as Japan and the Philippines, she said. But so far Beijing has not been “in a rush” to initiate releases from its substantial strategic reserves, said Xu. This is partly because China’s decades-long mission to diminish its traditional reliance on coal and fossil fuels is beginning to flourish. The large-scale efforts to transition to renewable energy mean “China is relatively well placed” to deal with the current situation, said Lauri Myllyvirta, co-founder of the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. Wind, solar and nuclear capacity has been added to China’s populous coastal provinces, while improved grid infrastructure carries electricity to them from inland. “There would be much more oil and gas imports needed to power those provinces” otherwise, said Myllyvirta. While dependencies still exist – including in the vast manufacturing sector – renewable energy is “helping a lot on the margin”, he said. Li Shuo, director of the China Climate Hub at the Asia Society, told AFP that the current energy crisis “vindicates China’s long-standing ‘all-of-the-above’ strategy”. President Xi Jinping is seeking to leverage the renewables build-out even further as geopolitical turmoil mounts. State broadcaster CCTV aired a segment on Monday in which Xi was quoted as calling for accelerated construction of a “new energy system” to safeguard energy security, although it did not mention the Middle East war. For Beijing, the “more serious risk” is not immediate energy shocks but a potential global economic downturn caused by the conflict, the Asia Society’s Li said. Some sectors will inevitably feel the pinch, presenting new hurdles for leaders struggling to jumpstart sluggish activity. Among them are “teapot” oil refineries – small, private outfits that have historically benefited from access to sanctioned Iranian and Venezuelan crude acquired at a discount.

China’s ’all-of-the-above‘ energy strategy pays off

o Xi seeks to leverage renewables build-out even further as geopolitical turmoil mounts

Solar panels are seen in fields next to a village in China’s central Jiangxi province. – AFPPIC

of the high prices of fuel and food,“ he said. Sam Natividad, a 25-year-old call centre worker, said that was no illusion. “I’m limiting my expenses because ... I also have to pay bills at home. I don’t have a big budget for my meals here,“ she told AFP at a roadside canteen, adding it was “understandable” if street vendors had to raise their prices. Near Garcia’s pares stall, Allan Palong, a driver for a motorbike ride-hailing app, said he understood the vendor’s need to charge five pesos more for a bowl of stew, even if his own earnings were being crippled by fuel price hikes. “It’s very difficult for us now, all prices have gone up ... the five-pesos mean a lot,“ he said, while calling on the government to slash the excise tax on imported fuel. “What they’re doing is not enough ... we can’t feel it.”– AFP ground to a halt since the war began. The chemicals industry could also face “significant pressure” from the disruption, Michal Meidan from the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies wrote in a recent report. On a national level though, she said, “the impacts can be smoothed out”. “While the economy will not be immune to higher prices and reduced economic activity, stakeholders are already taking pre-emptive measures in case the disruption is protracted,” she wrote. – AFP

However, their lax environmental standards, less predictable tax generation and competition with state-owned giants means that their shutting down is “not entirely bad news for China”, said Xu. Chipmaking, which Xi has declared a strategic priority, is another sector likely to encounter challenges as the Strait of Hormuz remains shut. Qatar is one of the world’s few large-scale producers of helium – vital for semiconductor manufacturing – and supplies have

The loss of Iranian crude could be a death knell for many of these operations, which are mainly concentrated in the eastern province of Shandong and are already reeling from Washington’s military intervention in Venezuela this year. Beijing likely has “mixed feelings” about that, Kpler’s Xu told AFP. On the one hand, teapots account for around one-fifth of China’s refining capacity, also providing substantial employment, she said.

Mideast war takes a bite out of Filipino street food vendors MANILA: Filipinos like their “pares”, a traditional beef stew, served hot – but the soaring cost of liquefied petroleum gas has made that prospect increasingly difficult since war erupted in the Middle East. because the rest is spent on LPG,“ he said. Garcia, who begins cooking at 3am every morning before hauling his stew to a middle class neighbourhood on a converted motorbike, said an 11kg tank of fuel, which typically lasts four days, that once cost 870 pesos now costs 1,600 pesos. said he had noticed his customer base slowly shrinking since the war erupted. “Many of them have started to bring packed lunches instead (to save money),“ said the 48-year-old who, like Garcia, is using his LPG ever more judiciously.

To save a few pesos 20-year-old Eric Garcia delicately turned a knob to adjust the flame under his warming trays to the lowest setting as he grapples with fuel costs that have nearly doubled in price. While sticker shock at petrol stations has garnered the biggest headlines since the war forced the partial closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the rising price of LPG has hit the import-dependent archipelago’s humble street food vendors. A day before speaking to AFP, Garcia said he had been forced to raise the price of a bowl of pares to 65 pesos (RM4.28) after fuel costs reduced his daily earnings by a quarter. “I’m only earning 1,500 pesos (per day),

“Sometimes we let the soup get cold,“ he admitted, noting that the cost of ingredients for his dishes had also been on the uptick since the war broke out. The Philippines revealed last Tuesday war-driven inflation figures that showed food prices had increased nearly twice as fast in March as the month before. French fry vendor John Mark Abella, 25, who has also upped his prices by five pesos to compensate for LPG costs, told AFP he believed inflation was putting the squeeze on his mostly student customers. “I think we’ve got fewer customers ... because they’re limiting their expenses because

“It’s the highest price of LPG that I’ve ever seen since I started here,“ said Carlo Manalad, a supervisor at a store selling tanks of the gas, 90% of which is imported. “If (our suppliers’) prices are high, we also raise our prices. Our profit is still the same,“ the 64-year-old told AFP. Many of the capital’s streetside food sellers, however, have no such luxury. “If we raise our prices, our customers will buy from other stalls,“ said Ronilo Titom, who has run a curbside canteen that caters call centre workers and jeepney drivers, for two years. Even while holding the line on prices, Titom