Is China’s Hoarding a Sign of Panic?

Beijing is hoarding food, fertilizer, and fuel as war reshapes the global order.

An oil tanker unloads imported crude oil at the Qingdao Port Oil Terminal in Qingdao, China, on April 12, 2026. Getty Images

Commentary

As conflict in the Middle East fractures energy corridors and upends global trade, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is reverting to hoarding, a basic survival mechanism. Mirroring its behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic and its policy of denial for rare-earth elements in recent trade spats, Beijing is aggressively stockpiling essentials, slamming the door on exports, and turning inward.