Author: Liz Lee and Joe Cash
BEIJING, March 19 (Reuters) – China called for an end to conflicts in the Gulf on Thursday and said waterway security should not be disrupted, adding that it was ready to work with Southeast Asia to address energy shortages as oil markets reel from supply shocks.
While the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran has allowed China to project itself as a more reliable superpower, analysts say China is wary of uncertainty in global energy markets, especially because it needs the resources it has been hoarding since the late 2000s to power the manufacturing industry that underpins its economy.
Aid to Southeast Asia’s 700 million people would bring relief to the region’s oil importers after Beijing earlier this month ordered a ban on Chinese exports of diesel, gasoline and jet fuel. China has also restricted exports of fertilizers, which rely on oil and natural gas refining by-products, to protect the domestic market.
When asked whether Southeast Asian countries were seeking help from China, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said at a regular press conference that “the situation in the Middle East has disrupted global energy security.”
“Relevant countries should immediately cease military operations to prevent regional instability from having a greater impact on global economic development,” Lin said. He added that the safety of the waterway should not be “disturbed,” but he did not mention the Strait of Hormuz by name.
“China is willing to strengthen coordination and cooperation with Southeast Asian countries to jointly solve energy security issues,” Lin added.
“As permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, China and the United Kingdom bear the responsibility of maintaining international peace and security,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in a phone call with his British counterpart late Thursday.
The war in the Middle East “is still expanding” and “has a direct impact on international energy, finance, trade and shipping, and harms the common interests of all countries.”
Opportunities for China relations
Wang Jin, a senior researcher at the Beijing International Dialogue Club, a think tank under the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the crisis could create new opportunities in countries where China is struggling to gain a foothold.
Wang said the closure of the Strait of Hormuz also highlighted the relative reliability of renewable energy compared with reliance on fossil fuels in the Gulf, including nuclear power and other green energy areas where Beijing is a world leader.
“China hopes to develop very positive, healthy and very consistent relations with everyone, especially energy relations,” Wang added.
Philippine Energy Secretary Sharon Garin met with China’s ambassador to the Philippines on Tuesday to discuss energy cooperation, running counter to the two countries’ dispute over maritime rights in the South China Sea.
(Reporting by Liz Lee and Joe Cash; Writing by Ryan Wu; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman, Alexander Smith and Nia Williams)
