US and China Align on Opposition to Toll Charges in Strait of Hormuz

Mintesinot Niggusie

Senior officials from the United States and China have agreed that no country or entity should be permitted to impose shipping tolls in the Strait of Hormuz, according to the US State Department, in a rare alignment between the two powers over security and access to one of the world’s most critical energy corridors.

The position was discussed during an April phone call between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. A US State Department spokesperson said the two officials agreed that “no country or organisation can be allowed to charge tolls to pass through international waterways like the Strait of Hormuz.”

The Chinese embassy in Washington did not challenge the US account, stating that maintaining “normal and safe passage” through the strait serves the shared interests of the international community. The waterway has historically carried roughly one-fifth of global oil and gas trade flows.

The discussions take place against a backdrop of heightened instability in the region following joint Israeli-US air strikes on Iran on February 28. Rubio raised the idea of Chinese vessels paying tolls, a proposal interpreted as an effort to encourage Beijing to exert pressure on Tehran to reduce tensions.

A subsequent draft resolution introduced by the United States and Bahrain also calls for an end to “efforts to exact illegal tolls” in the strait. Separately, China has instructed some domestic companies not to comply with US sanctions targeting Chinese refiners purchasing Iranian crude.