China has been amassing crude in strategic and commercial reserves for nearly a year—propping up oil prices throughout 2025 even though its demand growth has weakened. As we rolled into the very tumultuous 2026 with two major geopolitical events upending oil markets in as many months – the U.S. blitz to capture Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro and the U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran – China’s oil hoarding will likely pay off in these early days of the unpredictable and already highly disruptive war in the Middle East. The Chinese…