Shipping from China to Middle East gradually resumes via routes avoiding Strait of Hormuz

Maritime transport from China to the Middle East has gradually resumed, but via routes avoiding the Strait of Hormuz, where tensions remain high due to the ongoing U.S.-Israel-Iran conflict.

Hormuz, which once saw around 130 vessels passing daily, now has approximately 20,000 seafarers stranded aboard 2,000 ships in its waters, according to the International Maritime Organization.

China COSCO Shipping Corp., Ltd. has resumed bookings for shipments from the Far East to the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, and other countries, beginning March 25, covering key ports including Jebel Ali, Dammam, and Doha. Other major shipping companies, including Maersk, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) and CMA CGM Group, have also resumed bookings.

However, shipping companies have opted for routes that avoid the tense Strait of Hormuz.

"These shipping companies have indeed resumed bookings. However, they have made it clear in their announcements that they have suspended direct routes through the Strait of Hormuz and are instead using other ports or through other means," said Zhao Kaijie, head of an international warehousing and logistics company in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province.

Amid rising geopolitical tensions that have pushed up fuel costs, the international shipping market is experiencing another wave of price hikes.

As maritime routes remain disrupted, land transportation, which offers greater flexibility and reliability, has emerged as a popular alternative for delivering goods to the Middle East.

"What is behind us are the trucks that depart daily for Xinjiang ports as part of the domestic leg of the transportation route. After assembling in Xinjiang, the trucks continue on to Central Asia and the Middle East. Currently, the volume is around 20-30 trucks per day. The freight volume has seen a significant increase, especially for countries near Iran," said Li Jiantao, head of an international logistics company in Shenzhen.

Currently, China-Europe Railway Express routes heading toward the Middle East are also running at full capacity.

Shipping from China to Middle East gradually resumes via routes avoiding Strait of Hormuz

Solly Mapaila, general secretary of the South African Communist Party (SACP), criticized some countries jeopardizing the international rule-based system with wars, violence and sanctions as he elaborated on challenges multilateralism faces and Global South cooperation in a recent interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) in Beijing.

Mapaila called these countries' unilateral actions "disruptive" to international order.

"The changing nature of the strategic relations, if you like, the world balance of forces, that the capitalist world has practically devoured and are destroying international rule-based system. They are destroying international law. They arrogated to themselves the leaders of the world. They are trying to impose their ideas as universal ideas, and in the context of an emerging multipolar world largely and centered around China and to an extent as well the Russian Federation, they found it difficult to allow this to happen and they become disruptive. That's why they have launched wars, violence, sanctions, interference in countries' internal affairs, interference in security threats and everything else," he said.

Against uncertainties posed by unilateralism, Mapaila highlighted the importance for the Global South to show solidarity like they have at the Bandung Conference in Indonesia and the Tricontinental Conference in Cuba.

"Now, the Global South has a necessity to relive the moment of Bandung in which the South came together to struggle and to consolidate their solidarity against colonialism. This conference took place in Indonesia, and later on the Tricontinental Conference that took place in Cuba, which we are celebrating [the 60th anniversary now], in 1966, where Africa, Asia and Middle East, Latin America came together to discuss the challenges of colonialism and how to come out and support one another so that solidarity is important today," he said.

Mapaila led a delegation of South African politicians to visit China in March, where the two sides discussed deepening ties and exchanged views on international and regional issues of common interest.

Wars, sanctions destroying international law: SACP general secretary