By Jeffrey A. Newman Esq. MBA
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the few issues where U.S.and Chinese interests clearly
overlap, so it’s a natural place to build limited, interest-based cooperation even amid broader
rivalry. Both the U.S. and China’s economies depend on stable Gulf energy flows; roughly half of China’s oil imports transit through the Strait of Hormuz, and disruptions directly threaten its energy security and growth. The U.S.wants to keep Hormuz open, limit Iranian leverage, and reassure allies, but cannot
carry the security burden alone indefinitely, which may be why Washington has publicly
urged partners “including China” to help keep the strait open.
Back‑channel talks could explicitly recognize that Beijing has unique leverage over
Tehran as its main oil customer and political partner. China to press Iran to
codify predictable transit rules. Success in keeping Hormuz at least partially open—even for Chinese ships that recently struggled to exit due to IRGC interference—would give Beijing a concrete reason to see
limited alignment with the U.S .as valuable, not merely zero‑sum.
Jeffrey Newman, JD, MBA, is a whistleblower lawyer whose firm represents healthcare fraud whistleblowers and whistleblowers reporting violations of export controls, tariff evasion, money laundering, and other WB cases. Mr. Newman and his staff also represent many physician whistleblowers in healthcare fraud cases. Whistleblower laws in the U.S. allow individuals with information about export control violations or tariff fraud to report it under the False Claims Act. The Firm’s website is www.JeffNewmanLaw.com. Attorney Newman can be reached at Jeff@Jeffnewmanlaw.com or at 978-880-4758. For other blogs, see: http://JeffNewmanLaw.com
