Mohamed A. El-Erian, chief economic adviser at Allianz, the parent company of Pacific Investment Management Company LLC, highlighted the growing energy challenges facing China.

Beijing Loses Dual Discount Energy Lifelines

El-Erian pointed out in his Tuesday X post that China, which had already lost access to discounted Venezuelan oil, is now encountering difficulties with a second source of cost-effective energy – Iran.

His X post underscores the potential impact of the global geopolitical landscape on China’s energy security and economic growth.

China's economic hurdles are increasing.Having already lost access to discounted Venezuelan oil, Beijing is now seeing a second source of cost-effective energy–Iran–falter.This is happening as the 2025 strategy of propping up growth through aggressive global export expansion…

— Mohamed A. El-Erian (@elerianm) March 3, 2026

The loss of access to ...