Financial Times: US-Iran war turns China into a superpower

By Ahmet Taş | Wise News Press

ISTANBUL, TURKEY — The ongoing conflict between the United States and Iran is unexpectedly cementing China's position as the ultimate global superpower, according to a comprehensive analysis published by the Financial Times.

While the US depletes its military stockpiles and spends billions in the Middle East, Beijing is capitalizing on its vast oil reserves, a strategic exemption in the Strait of Hormuz, and America's heavy reliance on Chinese rare earth elements. The report outlines how this geopolitical crisis is solidifying China's commercial dominance and accelerating the potential shift away from the petrodollar system.

Flawless energy preparations

Normally, as the world's largest oil importer, China would be expected to suffer the most from a closure of the Strait of Hormuz. However, the Financial Times report highlights Beijing's meticulous preparation for such scenarios.

China currently holds the world's largest emergency oil reserve, totaling 1.3 billion barrels. Furthermore, the country imports nearly half of its natural gas via secure pipelines from Russia and Turkmenistan. According to Goldman Sachs estimates, only six percent of China's total energy consumption is directly exposed to disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. Crucially, despite Iran closing the strait to global trade, Tehran continues to allow safe passage for vessels linked to "non-hostile" partners, explicitly including Beijing.

70 billion dollar gain from the conflict

The prolonged conflict and the anticipated surge in oil prices are turning China, the world's largest green energy producer, into an unstoppable commercial force.

Chinese firms, which control 70 percent of the global green technology manufacturing capacity, including solar panels, batteries, and electric vehicle components, have already turned the war into a massive opportunity. Financial Times data shows that since the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran, the market value of China's largest battery manufacturers has surged by more than 70 billion dollars, driven by expectations of rapidly increasing demand for renewable energy.

Critical two-month stock warning for US weapons

One of the most striking claims in the report details how the US could be cornered by China regarding its own weapons manufacturing as the war drags on.

Agathe Demarais, a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, highlighted Beijing's massive leverage ahead of a planned May meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump. Demarais noted that many of the missiles, fighter jets, and other weapons America needs for its war efforts rely on Chinese-made rare earth elements. She warned that the US currently has only about a two-month supply left. In an environment where the Pentagon is rapidly depleting its Tomahawk and air defense missiles on the Iranian front, China's de facto monopoly on the rare earth elements required to produce new ones is viewed as a strategic nightmare for Washington.

Potential collapse of the petrodollar

According to the Financial Times analysis, the war also carries the potential to dismantle the long-standing hegemony of the US dollar in global oil trade.

Deutsche Bank strategist Mallika Sachdeva commented that the conflict could serve as a historical catalyst for the erosion of petrodollar dominance and the dawn of the "petroyuan." The report claimed that Iran is conducting secret negotiations with several countries to grant passage through the Strait of Hormuz on the condition that payments are made in the Chinese currency, the Yuan.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang's recent hosting of over 70 global CEOs to emphasize the reliability of the Chinese economy is cited as the clearest evidence that Beijing has successfully positioned itself as a stable harbor and the sole power capable of rebuilding the post-war Middle East amidst the chaos.

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