The U.S. blockade cuts off Iranian oil flow to China, putting a strain on the Chinese economy, and China’s shipments aiding the Iranian regime, analysts said.
After U.S.-Iran peace talks collapsed over the weekend in Pakistan, the United States set up a naval blockade of Iranian ports and coastal areas along the Strait of Hormuz.
The latest U.S. strategy has wide-ranging significance, especially as it is dealing a serious blow to the Chinese communist regime, analysts told The Epoch Times.
When the U.S.-Iran negotiations failed to reach an agreement in Islamabad on April 12 due to the Iranian regime’s refusal to abandon its pursuit of nuclear weapon development, U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. Navy would start a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
And so, as of April 13 at 10 a.m. ET, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) has been enforcing the blockade “impartially against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman,” according to its statement.
The U.S. blockade “will not impede freedom of navigation for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports,” CENTCOM said.
Soon after the Iran war began on Feb. 28, the Iranian regime blocked the Strait of Hormuz, firing on commercial cargo ships and oil tankers, while allowing some ships from “friendly countries,” including China, to pass through. In recent weeks, the Iranian regime has charged nations tolls of $2 million per transit for their vessels’ safe passage through the critical waterway.
The Chinese regime immediately criticized the U.S. blockade against Iran, saying that it would go against the international community’s interests, calling it “irresponsible and dangerous.”
‘One Stone, Two Birds’
Nearly 40 percent of China’s crude imports pass through the strait, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
China buys more than 80 percent of Iran’s shipped oil, according to public data for 2025. It has purchased on average 1.38 million barrels per day, representing about 13.4 percent of the total oil that is imported by sea. Chinese refiners have purchased sanctioned Iranian oil at discounted prices, saving about $8 to $10 per barrel.
China has paid Iran largely in RMB for its oil, bypassing the Western financial system and U.S. sanctions, saving its foreign reserves in USD.
By Alex Wu
