Xi Jinping Calls For Normal Passage Through Strait Of Hormuz Amid Iran Ship Seizures

Chinese President Xi Jinping weighed in on the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, stating that “normal passage through the waterway should be maintained” as “Iran’s reported seizure of ships brings new uncertainty.”

“On Monday, Chinese President Xi Jinping weighed in on the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz, stating that normal passage through the waterway should be maintained -just as Iran’s reported seizure of ships brings new uncertainty”

Forbes

The reporting frames the intervention as Beijing’s first comment on the issue since the US and Israel began their war with Iran and Lebanon in late February.

Forbes

Xi also called for “the Strait of Hormuz to be opened” and stressed “the importance of an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire to end the hostilities in Gulf.”

The same coverage says Xi is “clearly aiming to exercise greater influence and return to the status quo,” with disruption to global trade and a global economic downturn described as damaging to China’s export-oriented economy.

It adds that “Net exports contributed to one-third of China’s GDP in 2025,” and that uncertainty around the Strait of Hormuz poses “a huge challenge for China.”

The article further situates the stakes in energy flows, saying “53% of China’s imported oil comes from the Middle East” and that “about 45% of China’s oil goes through the Strait of Hormuz.”

The coverage ties China’s stance on Hormuz to the structure of its energy supply, saying “53% of China’s imported oil comes from the Middle East” while “18% of China’s imported oil comes from Russia.”

It emphasizes that China is “the largest consumer of Middle East oil,” and repeats that “about 45% of China’s oil goes through the Strait of Hormuz.”

Fortune

The same reporting links this dependence to China’s broader economic exposure, arguing that “any disruption to global trade or a global economic downturn would hurt its export-oriented economy.”

It also describes the Middle East as a growing trade partner, stating that “Trade between China and MENA countries rose to $480.7 billion in value in 2024,” with “crude oil constituting China’s main import from the region.”

The article says China’s interest accelerated after the China-US trade war that Trump initiated, with Beijing moving “to diversify and accelerate its trade relationships,” and it frames the Middle East as central to “stable energy production in the Middle East and the safe transport of energy from the region to China.”

In the same thread, the reporting says China’s mediation and diplomacy are shaped by its economic and strategic interests, noting that Beijing’s approach “lacks transparency” and is “shaped by its own economic and strategic interests at the expense of other actors.”

Beyond energy, the reporting portrays China’s comments as part of a wider diplomatic posture that has increasingly included mediation in regional crises.

“53% of China’s imported oil comes from the Middle East”

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It says that “it was not surprising that Pakistan reached out to China to help broker the first ceasefire between the US and Iran,” while also stating that “China had not been that active in peace building or direct mediation in the past.”

The same account argues that China’s “role as a mediator and peacekeeper has grown over the years,” citing that “By 2020, China contributed 2,249 peacekeepers to 25 operations, compared to only 20 in 1989.”

It characterizes China’s mediation model as “based on neutrality, pragmatism and non-interference,” and says Beijing “rarely” uses “economic sanctions” while relying on “other sources of economic leverage.”

The reporting contrasts this with Western approaches, saying China’s model “contrasts sharply with the West,” and it adds that Beijing’s approach “is shaped by its own economic and strategic interests at the expense of other actors.”

The account further states that China “always declines to take part in any sort of security coalition formed by the US or the UK,” and it links China’s influence to its economic ties with Saudi Arabia and Iran, describing normalization in 2023 after “seven years of proxy conflict.”

While Chinese officials emphasize maintaining passage and ceasefire, Singapore’s foreign minister framed the Strait of Hormuz turmoil as a potential rehearsal for a broader US-China confrontation.

Fortune reported that Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said today’s events in the Strait of Hormuz may be a “dry run” for “if U.S.-China conflict emerges,” describing it as “just a dry run.”

Fortune

Balakrishnan told the outlet, “Are we exquisitely positioned to take advantage of developments in both America and China? We are,” and he warned that “The main danger is: That relationship fractures if they go to war in the Pacific.”

The same reporting said Singapore considers both the United States and China as partners, and it anchored that claim with investment and trade figures: “American multinational enterprises directly pouring $467.6 billion into the country in 2024,” and a “U.S. trade surplus with Singapore” of “$3.6 billion last year.”

It also cited Singapore’s trade with China, saying it reached “its largest trade partnership with China, exporting $58.8 billion worth of goods there in 2023.”

In the same interview, Balakrishnan said he “doesn’t feel like Singapore has to pick between the two countries,” and he added, “We will refuse to choose,” while explaining that “The way we conduct our affairs is we assess what is in Singapore’s long term national interest.”

Fortune’s account broadened the Hormuz discussion to other maritime chokepoints and the legal question of tolls.

“Today’s tumult in the Strait of Hormuz may be a dress rehearsal for tomorrow’s war in the Pacific, according to Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan”

Fortune

It reported that “Tehran has proposed charging tolls to ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz,” and said that if tolls were implemented, it could set a precedent for tolls at the “Strait of Malacca,” described as “a 500-mile waterway passing by Singapore” that sees ships carrying “about 30% of the world’s traded goods.”

Forbes

Balakrishnan said the states surrounding Malacca—“Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia”—have a “cooperative mechanism” to not collect tolls, because it would go against their best interest as “trade-dependent countries.”

The reporting also quoted Balakrishnan on transit rights, saying, “The right of transit passage is guaranteed for everyone,” and it added, “We will not participate in any attempts to close or interdict or to impose tolls in our neighborhood.”

It further said Balakrishnan would “avoid different treatment of the U.S. and China,” and it framed this as part of Singapore’s effort to maintain diplomatic ties with both powers.

The same article also described how the Strait of Hormuz disruption is affecting markets, saying shipping traffic “has yet to return to its normal flow,” and that the US blockade “is also leaving oil prices elevated and threatening high gas prices and inflation in the U.S.”