Chinese experts increasingly worried about foreign oil dependence
China's latest offshore oil rig.
More foreign oil dependent than the US and growing
Today, not only is China more dependent upon foreign oil than is the US, but the country’s dependency has increased 33 percent since just 2009. Yet, this dependence is expected to increase significantly every year through 2030 according to Chinese government forecasts.
And many Chinese government experts are becoming increasingly worried.
Dong Xiucheng, professor with the China University of Petroleum, said the government should also be aware that China’s oil consumption growth has already outpaced that of the overall economy, indicating that China’s economic development has largely relied on energy-intensive industries.
Hence, like the US, China’s economy can be significantly affected by the global oil markets. Just as problems in Libya have proved to be strong headwinds for the US economy, such problems are becoming even more significant for the Chinese economy — an economy still struggling to become modern, urban and industrial.
So, what’s the fix?
Everything, according to Chinese experts. In the short term, China needs to develop and purchase as many oil resources as possible, while developing deepwater drilling technologies and tapping into natural gas. Likewise, experts claim that there is great room for increased efficiency across all sectors in China. Finally, long term China needs to develop alternative resources, such as the electrification of the transport sector.
Interestingly, China’s power consumption is also up more than 12 percent so far this year.
Ultimately, China has become an even bigger energy hog than the US, which makes some sense since China is far more populated. Still, in order for China to move its economy forward, the country will need to import a lot more foreign oil in the interim to more domestic production and alternatives.
And when China’s gas-guzzling economy roars, the rest of the world is sure to feel the effects.
Source: People’s Daily Online
reading through the wiki, I was a bit surprised to see that Prius are apparently being assembled in Thailand and China!
Assembly Tsutsumi, Japan (Toyota City)[34]
Chachoengsao, Thailand (December 2010-present)
Changchun, Jilin, China
Combine this with peak oil and you can see why oil prices remain high.
World oil production has peaked, but China’s demand continues to increase.
THIS is why oil prices remain near $100 a barrel, not because of oil speculators….