The West Asia war and the consequent closure of the Strait of Hormuz have constricted crude oil flows and sent prices spiralling, particularly for Asian economies such as India . The situation, however, could have been much worse for large Asian energy importers had it not been for one country — China. Beijing is the world’s largest crude oil importer, but has sharply reduced its imports of the commodity amid the West Asia crisis. This has freed up supplies from regions unaffected by the strait’s closure — Russia , West Africa, the Atlantic Basin, and non-Hormuz-dependent West Asian nations — and allowed the likes of India, South Korea, Japan, Thailand and Singapore to snap them up. This is what has blunted the oil shock and prevented a deeper supply crunch and even higher prices in the region — at least so far. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has said that he is looking to make a “final determination” on moving forward with a deal to extend the Iran ceasefire and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.…