China’s Strategic Edge in the U.S.-Iran Crisis

China is one of the few major economies coming out of the Iran shock with potentially more leverage, not less. While the Hormuz blockade decimates Gulf trade routes and energy markets, China’s factories are still producing, its export base is strong, and the expansive and expensive corridor systems it has been building for years are now coming in very handy. Pakistan’s decision to open transit routes into Iran is the clearest example of how those Chinese-built corridors are now being used. Tehran has relied heavily on UAE ports for…