China’s Middle East billions still woefully reliant on US gunboats

China has staked roughly US$145 billion in investments and construction contracts across the Middle East, while Iranian oil alone accounts for 13–14% of its imports.

Yet Beijing maintains no permanent military presence in the volatile region, with its only overseas base in Djibouti, thousands of miles away. The result is a structural mismatch at the heart of Chinese foreign policy: economic ambitions that increasingly depend on a security architecture Beijing does not control.Following US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran, the Strait of Hormuz — through which roughly 20% of the world’s oil and gas normally passes — was effectively shut down. Iran’s blockade reduced traffic by more than 90% from normal levels, stranding over 600 vessels, including hundreds of tankers, inside the Gulf.

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