Major Taiwanese news network Liberty Times Network (LTN) recently reported that, due to the escalation of conflict in the Middle East, the Chinese government has ordered the country’s largest oil refinery to suspend exports of diesel and gasoline.
Officials from China’s National Development and Reform Commission met with oil refinery executives and ordered an immediate halt to refined oil exports. The companies were instructed to stop signing new contracts and negotiate with buyers to cancel shipments. Aviation kerosene and marine fuel oil stored in bonded warehouses, as well as fuel destined for Hong Kong and Macau, were exempt from this restriction.
China has a massive oil refining industry, with most of its production used to meet domestic demand, thus it is not a key source of supply for the Asian market. However, as the Middle East crisis intensifies, Beijing’s preventative restrictive measures reflect the efforts of the entire import-dependent region to prioritize domestic needs. Nearly half of China’s oil imports come from the Gulf region, including almost all of Iran’s oil shipments.
China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec), China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), Sinochem Group, and Zhejiang Petrochemical Corporation regularly receive fuel export quotas from the Chinese government. None of these five companies responded to the aforementioned news.
Source: LTN, March 5, 2026
https://ec.ltn.com.tw/article/breakingnews/5360359