BEIJING: The crude oil imports by China have declined drastically in April 2026 as a result of the closing down of the Strait of Hormuz due to the conflict between Iran and other nations, which cut off the supply lines from the Middle East, accounting for almost 50% of China’s demand for crude oil. The custom data released by China on Saturday indicated the decline in China oil imports, providing the very first set of official government data regarding the effects of the conflict on the world’s largest oil importer country.
China’s drop in oil imports is taking place during a period when China is especially vulnerable to disruptions in its energy chain due to the dependency that China has relied on for decades in terms of its Middle Eastern oil needs, which have been put into sharp focus by the Strait of Hormuz dispute.
Crude oil shipments via sea come down to 8.03 million barrels per day – lowest since mid-2022
According to Kpler, an oceanic freight monitoring firm, the drop in Chinese oil imports has been documented with exact numbers. This is evidenced by the reduction in shipments of crude oil by sea to 8.03 million barrels per day in April, which is the lowest level since mid-2022. This can be attributed to the influence of the reduction in tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz, which will affect the shipment of crude oil to China.
Oil supplies from the Middle East account for about 50 percent of China’s requirements; hence, the decision by Iran to close off the Strait of Hormuz affected China more severely than other large importers that have less reliance on the Middle Eastern supply lines for their petroleum imports. The impact on China is even felt much quicker than in other countries due to this concentration.
Vortexa believes crude oil inventory build in April reached 17 million barrels as refiners relied on current inventory
According to Vortexa, China has built its crude oil inventory by about 17 million barrels in April. Such an increase in inventory is due to the fact that refiners are consuming current inventories to cover shortages caused by a drop in imports without having to immediately reduce their operations because of this problem. However, while the increased inventories have helped mitigate some issues caused by decreased imports in April, Vortexa believes the inventory levels will drop in May.
Inventory movement shows how Chinese refiners dealt with the shock of Hormuz’s closure, absorbing the cut in supply via judicious stock management and avoiding cutting throughputs, but it also indicates that May will be the real test of operations if imports don’t return to normalcy.
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Refined fuel export ban to secure domestic fuel supply
As a result of China’s falling crude oil imports, the Chinese government adopted an export strategy that aimed at securing its domestic fuel supply. The Chinese government imposed a refined fuel export ban to protect the supply of the domestic fuel market from a reduction in crude oil inputs. The refined product exports fell to 3.1 million tons in April, which is the lowest in nearly ten years.
This choice to reduce the export of refined product stems from Beijing’s recognition that energy security within China is more important than any commercial considerations for Chinese refineries that export their excess production to surrounding areas. The reduction to 3.1 million tons of export is a significant reduction from previous months, and indicates that the Chinese authorities reacted quickly upon recognizing the severity of the disruption of crude imports.
Imports of natural gas decrease by 13 percent amid supply chain woes for Chinese energy
China’s imports of oil continued into the natural gas category where its imports dropped by 13 percent to 8.42 million tons in April, thus adding another type of energy to the list of disrupted supplies. China did not provide statistics for liquefied natural gas and pipeline gas in its April data release, meaning it is hard to estimate which supply line was hit worse by the disruption, although the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz would likely impact the former.
Growth is witnessed yearly despite shock month as crude imports up 1.3% in four months
While the decrease in oil imports by China in April had an undoubted effect, the overall performance of crude oil imports by China in the first four months of 2026 was definitely improved. During the first four months of the year, China imported 185.3 million tons of crude, registering an increase of 1.3% year on year.
Nevertheless, the annual growth rate provides little solace after the surprise in April – an annual growth rate of 1.3% in only four months does not alleviate the drop in China’s oil imports during April, which demonstrates the inherent weakness in its supply chain, which will not be easily overcome with a month’s worth of inventory buildup, except if circumstances in the Strait of Hormuz are altered.
