China's Dilemma on Iran - Max Fisher - International. Is the threat of an Israeli air strike leading Beijing to consider other sources of energy?
Saudi crown prince Nayef bin Abdel-Aziz shakes hands with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao / Reuters Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao is on a six-day trip to three of the Middle East's major oil producers: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. All three are close U.S. allies; a Chinese Prime Minister has not visited Saudi Arabia in two decades. But the biggest news here may be the Middle Eastern energy exporter he isn't visiting: Iran, China's third-greatest source of oil. There's no reason to believe that the China-Iran relationship is ending, but this is another indication that China's interest in dealing with Iran may be waning. The Tehran-Beijing relationship is an important one to both countries. (Iran also needs China's support at the United Nations Security Council -- or, rather, they need China to continue opposing Western-led efforts at UNSC sanctions against Iran.
WikiLeaks: China looks elsewhere for energy. New York, NY - Though the so-called "cable gate" scandal has largely vanished from public view, revelations from classified US State Department correspondence continue to illuminate present day geopolitical dilemmas.
Take, for example, mounting tensions in the Middle East and, specifically, the Persian Gulf. China, whose energy needs have grown by leaps and bounds, relies extensively on Iranian oil and views unfolding friction between the Islamic Republic and its enemies with increasing concern. In an effort to diversify its energy portfolio and avoid the pitfalls of the Gulf, China has sought out alternative sources of oil. According to secret cables published by whistle-blowing outfit WikiLeaks, China is pursuing a "strategy of securing direct oil contracts around the world to reduce [its] reliance on oil shipped from and through hotspots such as the Persian Gulf and the Straits of Malacca".
Oil logistics problem The ups and downs New gringos? Nikolas Kozloff is the author of Revolution! Forget the received wisdom: Chinese finance in Latin America is a win-win. Eyebrows hit the ceiling last month when it was found Chinese development banks lend more to Latin American governments than the World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank.
A large proportion of Chinese finance in Latin America is packaged with oil-sale contracts commonly referred to as "commodity-backed loans", whereby nations ship hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil to China to help repay their debts. These commodity-backed loans have been scorned, because it is assumed that China forces Latin Americans to "lock-in" to low prices for oil. With oil prices having gone through the roof, China must be making windfall profits: such is the received wisdom. But a closer look suggests the deals are better for South Americans than most believe. New research shows that between, 2005 and 2011, the China Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of China provided upwards of $75bn in loan commitments to Latin American governments.
The reality of China's helping hand to eurozone. By investing in Europe, China is hoping the EU will reciprocate and lift the arms embargo imposed in 1989 after Tiananmen – among other favours – writes banker George Magnus China's top brass has been proclaiming for several months that it is worried about the economic stability of the eurozone. They say the nation will remain a long-term investor in the euro and euro bond markets. As the world's biggest creditor nation, with over $3 trillion of foreign exchange reserves, China is in pole position to lend a helping hand to Europe, as it strives to extricate itself from a sovereign debt crisis that has become an existential nightmare.
So why might China be interested to do so, and how can we best judge whether it will? There are three reasons why China has vested interests in professing a commitment to European financial stability. Second, China is anxious about global financial governance, especially the role of the US dollar in the world's monetary system.