Asif Mahmood

Where does China stand in the Strait of Hormuz crisis? Let us take a look.

According to a Brookings report, the winds have changed. America has got its horns caught in the crisis, while China is quietly enjoying the benefits.

For China, the Hormuz crisis does not pose any immediate problem.

China has solar power, batteries, electric vehicles and, above all, a commanding position in clean energy. All of this gives it an alternative to traditional fuels such as oil and gas.

Close the Strait of Hormuz and oil and gas prices go up. Every country in the world feels the shock. China, however, is in a different position. It has the clean-energy alternatives to fall back on. And even when it comes to conventional energy, China has around 1.5 billion barrels of oil reserves.

Now let us see how much China has gained in the process.

China’s share of global solar-module production has crossed 90 percent. It accounts for more than 80 percent of the world’s batteries and wind turbines, while its share of electric vehicles is more than two-thirds.

And remember, these figures are already two years old.

Now let us look at where things stand today.

Since the crisis began, Chinese exports of electric vehicles, solar panels, batteries and wind turbines have risen sharply. China’s electric-vehicle exports have crossed $9 billion, almost 50 percent higher than they were in the year before the Hormuz crisis.

Solar exports have reached 68 gigawatts, again about 50 percent higher than in the year before Hormuz.

Lithium-battery exports have risen by 50 percent. Wind-turbine exports are up 45 percent.

And then there is Pakistan.

China is a friend of Pakistan. It gave Pakistan a readily available alternative in the shape of solar power. The result is that, by the time the Hormuz crisis arrived, Pakistan had achieved a degree of self-reliance in electricity that meant it was no longer as dependent on Qatari LNG as it otherwise would have been.

Had solar power not been available, that dependence would have been considerably greater.

There is a lesson here for everyone else as well.

Move away from traditional fuels and towards clean energy. China has the solar panels. It has the batteries. It has the electric vehicles. And there is much more on the way.

Slowly, if you must. But move.

So, for all those friends who, like me, were asking where China stands in this crisis, here is the answer.

Look at where China stands.

It is standing on the other side of the crisis, where the opportunities are.