Beijing — China is preparing for the full economic influence of the US and Israel war with Iran since his energy stores are severely disrupted. China is the world’s largest energy importer, and the disruption of oil imports caused by the conflict could be a potential Achilles heel for Beijing, just weeks before President Trump’s much-anticipated state visit to China.

China imports 70% of its oil and gas, with most of its energy coming from the Persian Gulf, according to analysis by Det Norske Veritas, an independent global provider of insurance and risk management services.

Henry Wang, president of the Center on China and Globalization, told CBS News on Tuesday that China’s supply chain will be severely affected by what he calls a “man-made crisis.”

“I think this will definitely hurt China, but not just China, I think the whole world will be hurt. Strait of Hormuz is blocked and it will affect not only China, but also Asia, Europe, Latin America, even the US,” Wang said.

On Sunday, China’s top diplomat Wang Yi condemned the war, accusing the US of killing a sovereign leader, violating international law and pushing the region “to the brink of a dangerous abyss”.

Diplomatic relations between China and Iran have lasted for more than five decades. After US sanctions were reimposed on Tehran over its nuclear weapons program following the first Trump administration’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018, Iran sold up to 80% of its oil to China, according to 2025 data from analytics firm Kpler.

Some experts believe that Beijing has supported the regime by buying Iranian oil. Last year, China bought 1.38 million barrels of Iranian oil per day, according to Kpler data.

But Wang told CBS News that it was just a transaction for Beijing and an unfair representation of how China sees the relationship.

“I just think it’s a normal trade,” Wang said. “Just like we see Russia’s war with Ukraine and we see all the BRICS countries like India buying from Russia. So just because one country doesn’t like Iran, you can’t really ask the rest of the world that you can’t buy its oil.”

While Beijing is rolling out renewables and nuclear power at the pace its government has called for the fastest growing green economy in the world, Chinese demand for oil continues to grow.

“I think that although China now has a lot of green energy and has greatly improved its capabilities in alternative energy sources, 50% of China’s energy still depends on oil and many other natural gas and other sources,” Wang told CBS News.

Last year, off the coast of Malaysia in the Riau Archipelago, CBS News witnessed the shadow fleet transporting Iranian oil and conducting ship-to-ship transfers with Chinese tankers — a supply route that will be cut short if the war drags on. Wang says China has oil reserves of up to four to five months in the event of a protracted conflict.

Many analysts believe the US strikes on Iran are part of a White House strategy to contain China by targeting its energy supplies. Wang said that while the effect this will have on China’s supply cannot be denied, it could also cripple the US and its allies.

“I think President Trump is hurting himself. It’s hurting European countries, it’s hurting G7 countries, and it’s hurting the US. Not just China. The entire global economy. We don’t live in an isolated environment. It’s all intertwined,” he said.

Mr Trump will travel to China for a summit with President Xi Jinping at the end of the month. Two leaders last talked on the phone in February when the issue of Taiwanese and American arms sales to the island was raised in the conversation.

Last year, the US and China were also engaged in an escalating tariff war before reaching a fragile détente. But the war in Iran and events in the Middle East will only add another level of tension to the relationship between the world’s two superpowers.