Impact of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran is pushing Gulf countries to revisit costly plans for pipelines to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, so that they can continue to export oil and gas, the Financial Times newspaper reported on Thursday.
"Officials and industry executives say new pipelines may be the only way to reduce Gulf countries' enduring vulnerability to disruption in the strait, even though such projects would be expensive, politically complex and take years to complete," said the report.
"Previous plans for pipelines across the region have repeatedly stalled, undone by high costs and complexity," it said.
The Strait of Hormuz is a vital global energy corridor bordered by Iran to the north.
Around a fifth of global liquefied natural gas supply passed through the Strait of Hormuz, which also carries about one quarter of global seaborne oil trade.
Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and several other Iranian cities on Feb. 28, killing Iran's then Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, along with senior military commanders and civilians. Iran responded with waves of missile and drone strikes against Israel and U.S. assets in the Middle East, while tightening control over the Strait of Hormuz by restricting passage to vessels belonging to or affiliated with Israel and the United States.
Gulf countries consider new pipelines to avoid Strait of Hormuz: Financial Times
The sales revenue of China's high-tech industries in the period from January 1 to March 25 increased by 14.6 percent year on year, the latest official data released by the State Taxation Administration showed Wednesday.
The growth in sales revenue highlighted the stronger competitiveness in the country's high-tech industries and deepened industrial upgrading driven by technological innovation.
The data also showed faster commercialization of scientific-technological research achievements. The sales revenue in the scientific-technological research and technical service sector rose 21 percent year on year during the very period, while the sales revenue of intellectual property-intensive sectors with high sci-tech content increased by 10.9 percent year on year.
"From January 1 to March 25, the sales revenue of core industries within the digital economy and the amount spent by enterprises nationwide on digital technology procurement grew by 9.5 percent and 9.7 percent year-on-year, respectively. [These figures] illustrate continued advancement of digital industrialization and industrial digitalization in China," said Huang Yun, spokesman of the State Taxation Administration, at a press conference in Beijing.
Next, Huang said, taxation authorities will further refine and implement preferential tax and fee policies designed to support sci-tech innovation. By leveraging tax-related big data and advanced information technology, Huang added, taxation authorities will keep delivering targeted policy guidance directly to enterprises to maximize policy dividends and help foster robust development of China's new quality productive forces.
China's high-tech industries record robust growth in early 2026
