China has told its largest oil refiners to suspend exports of diesel and gasoline, Bloomberg News reported.

China is a net importer of oil and is one of several major Asian economies that depend on the vital Strait of Hormuz, where traffic is currently blocked, for energy.

The Middle East was the source of 57 percent of China’s direct seaborne crude imports in 2025, according to analytics firm Kpler.

Officials from China’s top economic planner, the National Development and Reform Commission, met with refinery representatives “and verbally called for a temporary suspension of refined product shipments that would begin immediately”, Bloomberg said, citing people familiar with the matter.