China’s interest in the Strait of Hormuz is driven by economic necessity — as the world’s largest energy importer, it relies heavily on the strait for oil and gas shipments critical to sustaining industrial growth, domestic stability, and the legitimacy of the current leadership.

Beijing adopts a pragmatic and cautious approach, diplomatically supporting freedom of navigation and international norms while avoiding direct military involvement or confrontation, due to its policy of non-interference and limited power projection capabilities far from home.

The article highlights a structural contradiction: China benefits from the current global order (secure sea lanes maintained largely by others) but is reluctant to take a leading role in upholding those global public goods, creating tensions with other powers and limiting its influence in the region.

China’s commitment to the freedom of navigation and use of the Strait of Hormuz is pragmatic. For a country with the biggest population in the world and the largest energy importer in the world, the Strait of Hormuz is important for China’s economic development and for the country’s expanding interests across the globe. While other energy-importing countries are affected by the Strait of Hormuz and face similar challenges, China’s greater dependence on energy from the region means that it is more exposed to potential disruptions to energy supplies. Even though China has become a global great power, it is structurally unable to challenge the current global framework of power structure, because China, as a country, is militarily not powerful enough to project forces to every part of the world. It adheres to a long-standing policy of non-interference. Thus, even though China demands freedom of navigation and use of the sea diplomatically, on the ground, China acts extremely cautiously and mainly relies on the current norms of international relations.

The Strait of Hormuz is a crucial choke point for a large share of the world’s oil and gas exports. Any disruptions to shipping, be they as a result of conflict or as a result of growing geopolitical tensions, could lead to a rapid increase in prices at the pump around the........

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