In the first two months of the year, before the outbreak of fighting in the Middle East paralyzed energy supply lines, China ramped up its oil purchases as part of a continued strategy to shield the country from rising geopolitical tensions.

今年前两个月，在中东冲突爆发导致能源供应线瘫痪之前，作为应对地缘政治紧张局势的持续战略，中国已加大石油采购力度。

The world’s largest buyer of oil, China imported 15.8 percent more oil in January and February over the same period last year, according to customs data released by China on Tuesday.

中国官方周二公布的海关数据显示，作为全球最大石油买家，中国今年1至2月的石油进口量较去年同期增长15.8%。

Beijing has been building up its strategic stockpile over the past year, even as domestic oil consumption has continued to fall. All that oil is now expected to come in handy.

过去一年，尽管国内石油消费量持续下降，中国仍在不断扩充战略石油储备。如今，这些储备预计将派上用场。

“Oil stockpiling has been taking place for a while now, and Chinese regulators were already preparing for geopolitical tensions to arise from the Trump administration,” said Cosimo Ries, an energy analyst at Trivium China, a consulting firm. “It was a strategic step which, in hindsight, was pretty wise.”

“石油储备工作已经进行了一段时间，中国监管部门此前就在为特朗普政府可能引发的地缘政治紧张做准备，”咨询机构Trivium China的能源分析师科西莫·里斯表示。“事后看来，这是相当明智的战略举措。”

President Trump has launched attacks on two of China’s cheapest sources of oil, Venezuela and Iran. Venezuela’s leader, Nicolás Maduro, was ousted and brought to the United States, where he is in a federal prison in New York awaiting trial. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed on Feb. 28 during U.S. and Israeli military strikes.

特朗普政府已对中国的两大廉价石油来源委内瑞拉和伊朗发起打击。委内瑞拉领导人马杜罗被推翻并押往美国，目前关押在纽约联邦监狱等候审判。伊朗最高领袖阿亚图拉阿里·哈梅内伊则在2月28日的美以军事打击中身亡。

The leadership changes in both countries have thrown into question the lucrative deals that China had secured with the two countries to buy oil sanctioned by the United States. Mr. Trump has said that the United States will take over Venezuela’s oil industry. In Iran, the source of 13 percent of China’s oil imports, the Trump administration’s plans are not yet clear.

两国的政权更迭使中国此前与两国达成的购买受美国制裁石油的大笔协议蒙上阴影。特朗普曾表示，美国将接管委内瑞拉石油工业。而伊朗占中国石油进口量的13%，特朗普政府针对伊朗的具体计划尚不明确。

Experts said they expected China to continue building up its energy security now, as the war in Iran disrupts traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow passageway through which one-fifth of the world’s oil supply flows. China imports around half of its seaborne crude oil from the Middle East.

专家表示，随着伊朗战争扰乱霍尔木兹海峡航运——这条狭窄水道承载着全球五分之一的石油供应，预计中国将进一步加强能源安全保障。中国约一半的海运原油进口来自中东。

Guo Jiakun, a spokesman for China’s foreign ministry, said on Tuesday that “China will take necessary measures to safeguard its own energy security.”

中国外交部发言人郭嘉昆周二表示：“中国将采取必要措施，保障自身能源安全。”

Muyu Xu, a senior crude oil analyst at Kpler, a market research firm, said the government’s priority is to ensure stable fuel supplies and it may take steps, such as “instructing refiners to halt fuel exports and potentially lending or releasing crude reserves to refiners.”

市场研究公司Kpler的高级原油分析师徐沐雨（音）称，中国政府当前的优先事项是确保燃油供应稳定，并可能采取相关措施，例如“要求炼油企业暂停燃油出口，或向炼油企业投放、出借原油储备”。

China has been buying more oil over the past year for its strategic stockpile, which stands at roughly 1.2 billion barrels, or about 115 days of its seaborne crude imports, according to Ms. Xu.

徐沐雨表示，过去一年中国持续增加石油进口以充实战略储备，目前规模约为12亿桶，相当于约115天的海运原油进口量。

Much of this has been strategic. China significantly increased its purchases of Russian oil this year as India pulled back its own buying amid negotiations with the United States on a trade deal that stipulated it replace its Russian supply.

此举很大程度上出于战略考量。今年印度在与美国谈判贸易协议期间缩减了俄罗斯石油采购，该协议要求印度替换俄罗斯石油供应，中国则大幅增加了对俄罗斯石油的购买。

The surge in oil imports helped to spur China’s robust trade growth in the first two months of the year. Imports surged nearly 20 percent in January and February, a sharp increase after imports remained mostly flat in 2025. Meanwhile, Chinese exports continued to grow rapidly, rising 22 percent in the two-month period and building on last year’s record outpouring of Chinese-made goods abroad.

石油进口激增推动了中国今年前两个月的贸易强劲增长。1月至2月，中国进口额飙升近20%，较2025年基本持平的进口态势呈现显著增长。与此同时，中国出口延续高速增长，两个月内增长22%，延续了去年创纪录的商品出口势头。