China Builds Crude Stockpiles in April as Rest of World Drains Reserves

🛢️ BEIJING — Beijing is filling tanks while everyone else scrambles for supply. 📌 LOOK CLOSER: China stockpiling while OECD reserves hit critical lows means the Hormuz shock is distributing pain unevenly by design. Every barrel Beijing stores is leverage banked — over Tehran, over Washington, and over a post-blockade price negotiation. If Hormuz reopens, China floods the market on its terms. If it doesn't, Beijing outlasts the squeeze.