Foreign Media: The Hormuz Crisis Reveals the Vulnerability of Global Trade's Strategic Passages
Iran's war has disrupted global trade flows, triggering deep reflection on the vulnerability of trade strategic passages. The author reviews history, pointing out that from the fifth century B.C., when Athens relied on grain imports, to the medieval Venetian monopoly over East-West trade, to the 1973 Arab oil embargo that triggered a global recession, the Suez Canal closure in 1956 and from 1967 to 1975 reshaping global shipping patterns, and the 2021 "Ever Given" blocking the Suez Canal for six days, which affected global supply chains — history repeatedly proves that once narrow trade channels carrying strategic materials are blocked, the impact will far exceed the incident area.
The current Hormuz Strait crisis may be even more severe than historical cases, as modern global supply chains are deeply interconnected, economic shocks spread faster, and key waterways carry more types of goods, with deeper dependence on modern production and energy systems.
Countries with a single trade structure are hit the hardest, while countries with diversified trade partner networks (such as China) demonstrate stronger resilience.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1860371768841418/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.