Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman yesterday amid continuing tensions around the Strait of Hormuz. In an official readout published by the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Xi stressed that the strait “should maintain normal passage as this serves the common interests of regional countries and the international community. China supports regional countries in building a common home of good-neighbourliness, development, security and cooperation, holding their future in their own hands, and promoting lasting peace and security in the region.”

Approximately 20% of daily global oil production passes through that strait, of which roughly 80% is destined for Asian markets, including China.

The Common Sense previously reported that “China is one of the world’s largest importers of oil, and it has been heavily reliant on the Middle East, particularly Iran, for stable energy supplies. In 2025, China imported approximately 1.4 million barrels of oil per day from Iran, which accounted for 13.4% of its total seaborne crude imports. Chinese independent refiners were able to secure this crude at discounted prices, typically $8–$12 per barrel lower than the international price of Brent crude. This discount allowed China to keep its energy costs down.”

The Common Sense has also previously argued that Chinese intervention to address the crisis, especially via pressure on Iran, may be an important step towards resolving the crisis and that American efforts to blockade the strait may in part be geared at prompting China to do exactly that. The comments by Xi are therefore extremely important and further build the case argued by this newspaper since the early days of the conflict that a nearer-term rather than a longer-term exit point for the conflict is its most plausible outcome.