China turns to central Asia as US blockade in Hormuz chokes global energy flows
Chinese vice-premier to visit major gas field in Turkmenistan as Beijing aims to shore up energy security and diversify away from volatile maritime routes
As China looks to central Asia for more energy supplies to offset shipping disruptions amid the Iran war, Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang will travel to Turkmenistan to visit local gas fields and to attend a bilateral cooperation meeting.
Ding, who is China’s top-ranking vice-premier, will kick off his three-day visit on Wednesday by attending the groundbreaking ceremony for the fourth phase of the Galkynysh gas field as President Xi Jinping’s special representative, Xinhua reported.
Ding will also co-chair the seventh meeting of the bilateral cooperation committee with Turkmenistan, which is a major gas supplier to China via a pipeline that runs from central Asia.
“Due to the continuing geopolitical turmoil in the Middle East and closure of the key Strait of Hormuz chokepoint for oil and gas shipments, central Asia has become increasingly important for China’s energy security,” said Rajiv Biswas, CEO of Asia-Pacific Economics in Singapore, noting that Turkmenistan and Russia were the largest sources of China’s pipeline-gas imports.