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Conflict coverage · Iran–Gulf

State actor

China and the Gulf

China is the demand side of this system. It is reported as taking around ninety per cent of Iran's oil exports, which is the practical ceiling on what sanctions can achieve, and it is a major buyer of Gulf Arab crude and Qatari LNG at the same time — roughly a quarter of Qatari LNG exports were destined for China in 2025. It is also a decision-maker on the diplomacy: on 7 April 2026 China and Russia vetoed a Security Council draft on safeguarding international shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, having voted for the earlier resolution condemning attacks on the Gulf states. China buys from both sides of the war and holds a veto over the Council's response to it.

External powersDominant customer · Security Council veto holderPeople's Republic of China

Last reviewed
2026-09-04

AssessmentModerate confidence

Figures carry their own uncertainty. Population, economic and military-spending data in wartime are estimates, often contested; every figure below shows its as-of date and a confidence grade, and leadership positions reflect the last review date and change without notice.

Reported at around 90%
Share of Iranian oil exports
EST · AS OF 2026 · Confidence: Moderate
About 24%
Share of Qatari LNG exports
EST · AS OF 2025 · Confidence: Moderate · Congressional Research Service.
Vetoed the 7 April 2026 draft on Hormuz shipping; the earlier resolution 2817 was adopted without a Chinese veto
Security Council position
EST · AS OF 2026-04-07 · Confidence: High

The buyer on both sides

China is simultaneously Iran's principal customer and a major customer of the Gulf Arab states whose exports Iran has disrupted. That dual position is the reason its diplomatic behaviour has not tracked either camp: it did not block the condemnation of attacks on the Gulf states in March, and it blocked the shipping resolution in April on the stated grounds that the draft failed to capture root causes and offered one-sided condemnation.

What is established and what is not

China's role as a customer is well documented. Claims that China has provided Iran with navigation, radar or electronic-warfare support are reported by commentary attributing them to unnamed experts, and no primary confirmation has been found. Vigil does not author that support, and the security relationship will carry an explicit information gap when it is written in P2.

Elsewhere in Iran–Gulf

Economic profileAll Iran–Gulf profiles
Confidence: ModerateTrade and Security Council positions are well sourced. Export-share figures rest on commercial estimates, and claimed material support to Iran is unverified and not carried.Sources: Congressional Research Service — Iran, the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz · UN Security Council and Panel of Experts reporting↗ · Public market and insurance dataMethodologyCorrectionsOpen in Explore

Last reviewed2026-09-04

Related structure

4 records that China and the Gulf names, or that name it. Every one is an explicit reference in a published record — nothing here is inferred from subject matter.

Relationships

Standing relationships whose record names this actor as a party, with the type, status and validity the record states.

Named in these events

Dated events whose record names this actor.

Logistics systems

Supply and export systems whose record names this actor.