How China Turned the Strait of Hormuz Crisis into an Advantage

Payne Institute Director Morgan Bazilian and Fellow Jamie Webster write about how China spent decades building energy resilience through stockpiles, manufacturing dominance, and strategic partnerships. For China, the Iran war and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz are not a shock like that facing Japan, South Korea, or India. Instead, it is a live test of a completely different model of energy security. June 23, 2026.