Russia offers China energy lifeline as Iran war strangles supply

Russia has offered to help China with any potential energy shortfall, as the war in the Middle East heightens geopolitical divisions and threatens global commodity supplies.

“Russia can certainly fill the resource gap that has arisen in China and other countries interested in working with us on an equal and mutually beneficial basis,” Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday, according to comments reported by Russian news agency Interfax.

Russia’s top diplomat also commented on China and Russia’s ability to withstand the economic impact of “aggressive” U.S military operations against Iran, which have sent global oil and gas prices soaring.

“Thank God, we and China have all the capabilities, both those already in use and those in reserve, and those planned, to avoid being dependent on this kind of aggressive adventure [the situation in the Middle East], which undermines the global economy and global energy,” Lavrov told a press conference in Beijing.

Russia’s offer came after Lavrov met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Wednesday. The officials reaffirmed Russia and China’s friendship and strategic cooperation. Both sides said the relationship was “unshakable amid any storms.”

China’s foreign ministry said Wednesday that the countries “conduct practical cooperation in energy” on the basis of “mutual respect and mutual benefit,” in comments reported by Reuters.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is due to visit China in the first half of the year with Russia’s Vedemosti newspaper citing sources stating that the meeting could take place in the week of May 18. U.S. President Donald Trump is also due to meet President Xi, with the summit due to take place on May 14-15.

Moscow and Beijing have both condemned the U.S. and Israel’s military operations against Iran.

However, the conflict is proving lucrative for Moscow as oil prices have soared. Meanwhile, China’s resilience has benefited Chinese asset prices since the start of the war.

Still, both Russia and China have vested interests in the war ending as soon as possible; Iran is a key ally of Russia’s in the Middle East and it does not want to see another partner fall.

China, meanwhile, depends on Iran for its crude oil imports. It also requires other commodities that have to be transported through the Strait of Hormuz maritime passage, which is currently under a U.S. blockade.

Data released on Tuesday showed that China’s crude oil and gas imports fell in March from a year ago, signaling that disruptions to supplies from the Middle East were starting to take effect.

China boasts significant stockpiles of oil and a diversified energy mix, meaning its exposure to the global energy shock caused by the Iran war is seen as more manageable than that of other major economies. Nonetheless, the world’s second-largest economy is reliant on global energy supplies and longer-term disruptions could prove costly for China.

Major oil and gas producer Russia, meanwhile, has seen a windfall from the Iran war as Middle East energy supplies have been impacted, prompting major buyers India and China to significantly increase imports, massively boosting Russia‘s fossil fuel export revenues. In the first quarter of 2026, 90% of Russia’s total exports of crude were delivered to China and India, data shows.

Russia and China have condemned the blockade preventing ships from entering and exiting Iranian ports with China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson slamming the “dangerous and irresponsible act” that will further enflame tensions in the region, in unusually outspoken comments on Tuesday.

— CNBC’s Anniek Bao contributed reporting to this story.