Clues are emerging in the mystery of the missing three million barrels—the oil that China would normally be importing but isn’t now. | World News

China has reduced oil imports since the start of the Iran war, capping global crude prices.

Beijing has leaned on stockpiles, refinery cuts and export curbs instead of chasing replacement crude, helping cushion global markets from the supply shock.

The Strait of Hormuz, just 29 nautical miles (54 km) wide at narrowest point may be one of the world's most critical oil chokepoints. But as disruptions rattles the waterway, an…