International

As the US and UK launch airstrikes to stop Iran-backed Houthi rebels from attacking ships in the Red Sea, China again finds itself happily sitting on the sidelines.

It’s not because the world’s second-biggest economy doesn’t have a lot at stake: China imports about half of its crude oil from the Middle East, and it exports more to the European Union than the US. The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index last week rose to the highest level since September 2022, according to Bloomberg Intelligence, reflecting the added costs of potentially needing to divert ships around the tip of Africa.