Russia on Wednesday (local time) offered China help with any potential energy crisis as the US-Iran war in the Middle East deepens geopolitical divisions and threatens global commodity supplies, CNBC reported.
Russia’s Interfax news agency, citing Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s comments, noted: “Russia can certainly fill the resource gap that has arisen in China and other countries that are interested in cooperating with us on an equal and mutually beneficial basis.”
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Russia and China can withstand economic impact of war: Lavrov
Lavrov also commented on the ability of China and Russia to withstand the economic impact of “aggressive” US military operations against Iran, which have pushed global oil and gas prices to new highs.
At a press conference in Beijing, Russia’s top diplomat said: “Thank God, we and China have all the options, both those already in use, those in reserve and those planned, to avoid depending on this kind of aggressive adventure (the situation in the Middle East) that undermines the global economy and global energy.”
Lavrov will visit China
Sergey Lavrov’s statement was made during his visit to China, where he met Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday. According to reports, the officials reaffirmed the friendship and strategic cooperation between the two countries, with both sides saying the relationship was “unshakable amidst any storms”.
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China’s foreign ministry separately noted that both Moscow and Beijing are “carrying out practical energy cooperation” based on “mutual respect and mutual benefit,” Reuters reported.
Moscow’s decision to help Beijing comes ahead of the planned visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin in the first half of this year.
Russia and China criticize the US war with Iran
Both Russia and China have condemned the US-Israeli war against Iran that began in late February. While a two-week ceasefire is in place from now on, mediators hope to resume talks between the two sides after a 21-hour round of talks in Islamabad, Pakistan, failed without an agreement.
However, the conflict in the Middle East appears to be lucrative for Moscow as oil prices surged after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) closed the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway responsible for transporting nearly 20% of the world’s oil. Meanwhile, China’s resilience since the start of the war has benefited asset prices, CNBC reported.
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Russian and Chinese interests in Iran
Reports suggest that both Beijing and Moscow want the US-Iran war to end as soon as possible. For Russia, Iran remains an important partner in the Middle East, and Moscow is unlikely to want to risk weakening or losing another regional ally.
Meanwhile, China’s concerns are directly related to energy security. Beijing relies on Iranian oil imports and a steady flow of commodities that pass through Hormuz, where the US military has enforced a blockade. Data released on Tuesday showed China’s crude and natural gas imports fell in March from a year earlier, signaling that disruptions to supplies from the Middle East are starting to take effect.
Although China maintains large oil reserves and has a relatively diversified energy mix, which helps cushion the immediate impact compared to some other major economies, it is still heavily dependent on global energy markets. Prolonged instability could therefore bring high economic costs over time.
Russia benefits from war in the Middle East
Russia, a major producer of oil and gas, benefited greatly from the Iran war. Disruptions to energy supplies in the Middle East have led major buyers such as India and China to sharply increase imports from Russia, boosting its fossil fuel export earnings.
The data shows that in the first quarter of 2026, about 90% of Russian oil exports were sent to China and India.
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In early March, days after the war began, the PTI news agency reported that Moscow said it was ready to step in and meet New Delhi’s entire energy demand if prolonged blackouts affected the country’s oil and gas supplies.
“We are ready to meet India’s energy needs in the event of continued power disruptions,” an official from the Russian Federation embassy said in the report.
