Reactions to the US-Israel attack on Iran; Prepping for the Two Sessions; Science and technology insurance

This was supposed to be a fairly quiet week heading into the “Two Sessions”, with the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) opening March 4 and the National People’s Congress starting March 5.

The US-Israel attack on Iran of course is dominating the news. So far the PRC response has been predictable, with condemnations of the US and calls between Wang Yi and the Foreign Ministers of Russia, Iran, Oman and France. We should not expect anything more than diplomatic and rhetorical responses. The US getting bogged down in another Middle East quagmire, while depleting weapons supplies that need rare earths to be replenished, could have benefits for the PRC, but the risks to oil and gas supplies and prices could be quite negative for China.

This chart from Gerard DiPippo shows that Iranian oil makes up about 12% of the PRC’s total oil imports:

At this point it is too early to tell what this means for China, so apologies that I do not have any hot takes. I do strongly dis…