A tanker ready to be loaded with liquefied natural gas (LNG) at the Rudong LNG terminal of CNPC (China National Petroleum Corporation) in Jiangsu province, September 4, 2018. Credit: Imaginechina via AP Images
Who does China trade with in order to keep the lights on? Not the United States.
Once burgeoning U.S. exports of fossil fuels to China are drying up as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the expiration of the U.S.-China Phase One trade deal that was signed back in 2020. Europe’s scramble for a reliable supply of natural gas has led American producers to redirect their supplies across the Atlantic; meanwhile, Russia is turning to China to buy up its excess supply.
Should current trends continue, the result would be a reorienting of the global energy trade in ways not seen since the end of the Cold War, with the movement of commodities aligning with hardening political blocs. Some experts say that energy trade flows may be just the start, with its realignment a harbinger of things to come for other industries, including agriculture and manufacturing.
This week, The Wire looks at how the U.S.-China trade in energy commodities has changed this year,
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Why is one of Taiwan's largest media groups — Want Want China Times Media Group — spreading anti-U.S. rhetoric? Largely because its billionaire owner, Tsai Eng-meng, is known to sympathize with the Chinese Communist Party and favors unification with the mainland. Now, with Taiwan gearing up for a critical presidential election, Want Want’s efforts are picking up and helping to normalize CCP talking points.
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The author and academic talks about how trade has actually changed over the last 40 years; why China's rise is linked to Asia's regionalization; and why international supply chains are efficient and resilient.
