Report: China Ignores Belt and Road Victims’ Calls for Help with Rising Energy Costs

Clients of China’s vast Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) are asking Beijing for help with spiking energy costs due to the Iran conflict, but so far China has reportedly offered little assistance, instead shutting down fuel exports to conserve its own energy stockpiles and protect its own economy.

Reuters on Monday noted the “cold shoulder” from Beijing to its BRI clients is politically problematic, because China made grandiose promises of energy and economic security to the nations that were drawn into its orbit.

Some of China’s promises took the form of binding contracts, not just breezy assurances, but BRI client states like Bangladesh and Thailand are finding China reluctant to deliver promised shipments of fuel and fertilizer during the Iran crisis.

China banned exports of refined fuel in mid-March to increase the size of its own gasoline hoard. On Tuesday, despite mounting pressure from its anguished BRI clients,