An opinion column argues China cut crude imports by about half (around 5.5 million barrels a day) between February and June, drawing on its national reserves, and that this pushed Brent down about $30 a barrel while the Hormuz disruption kept supply tight. The column says China now steers global crude prices much as OPEC once did. For a Thai SME this is background: crude can swing sharply on Beijing's buying and selling, so keep fuel and energy budgets flexible rather than assuming today's price holds.