Overview
- Xi Jinping, who called Monday for faster planning and construction of a “new energy system,” cast coal as the grid’s foundation and urged more hydropower and safe nuclear expansion to secure supplies.
- The IEA, IMF and World Bank will meet next Monday to coordinate responses, offering tools such as targeted policy advice and low- or zero‑interest financing after Fatih Birol labeled the disruption worse than 1973, 1979 and 2022 combined.
- Reporting finds China is weathering the Strait of Hormuz cutoff better than many importers because of large oil stockpiles, rapid growth in electric cars and renewables, and coal‑based petrochemicals that reduce reliance on seaborne oil.
- Countries that tapped cheap Chinese clean tech are also holding up, with Pakistan’s widespread rooftop solar and Nepal’s low‑cost EVs easing gasoline use and softening household energy bills.
- Many governments are still firefighting, with Japan releasing up to 90 million barrels from reserves, raising coal plant use and restarting a major reactor to keep power flowing as the shortfall strains budgets and consumers.