China urged to strengthen navy escorts and find other routes to secure energy supply

The Middle East conflict has shaken up the global energy supply chain and Beijing needs to do more to protect shipments – such as finding alternative routes and boosting escort capabilities, according to industry analysts.

Lu Ruquan, president of the China National Petroleum Corporation Economics and Technology Research Institute, said the country should “strengthen escort capabilities, emergency responses and safety guarantees at critical nodes”.

Writing in the journal International Petroleum Economics on Monday, lead author Lu said the closure of the Strait of Hormuz had exposed the fragility of global maritime chokepoints.

The waterway’s closure since March has disrupted shipments of vital goods such as oil, gas and fertiliser, driving up prices and inflation. The US inflation rate hit 4.2 per cent in May – the highest level in three years.

On Thursday, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the US and Iran had signed a peace deal that would take immediate effect, with the Strait of Hormuz to reopen and the US to lift its naval blockade of Iran.

An outline of the agreement released by Washington states that Iran will “use its best efforts” to ensure safe, fee-free passage for commercial vessels between the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman for 60 days.