China has been preparing for a global energy crisis for years. It is paying off now

[NickB79]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/20/china-oil-reserves-global-energy-crisis

Xi Jinping has been preparing for a crisis like this for years. China must secure its energy supply “in its own hands”, its president was reported to have said during a visit to one of its vast oilfields in 2021.

The US-Israel war on Iran plunged the Middle East into a deep conflict, with the strait of Hormuz – one of the most important waterways in global trade – all but closed and key energy facilities across the region under attack.

Oil exports from the Middle East have tumbled 61% over recent weeks, according to maritime tracking consultancy Kpler – roiling countries across Asia, which relied on the region for 59% of its crude imports in 2025, and have been left racing to conserve energy.

But China, the world’s second-largest economy, appears to be in a very different position to much of the continent.

Over the years, a lot of manufacturing has migrated from China to other Asian nations as their labor costs have risen. But without energy resources to keep factories humming in Vietnam or Thailand, some of it may flow back to China.

[Blue Full Moon]

1. China did get all of the Afghanistan oil.

We were supposed to get half. Even had the war.

[cliffside]

2. There's a Race to Power the Future. China Is Pulling Away

Full article from 2025 ...

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/06/30/climate/china-clean-energy-power.html?unlocked_article_code=1.VVA.VV3m.D4_Pw-jtEumP&smid=url-share


"In China, more wind turbines and solar panels were installed last year than in the rest of the world combined. And China’s clean energy boom is going global. Chinese companies are building electric vehicle and battery factories in Brazil, Thailand, Morocco, Hungary and beyond.

.... The race is on to define the future of energy. Even as the dangers of global warming hang ominously over the planet, two of the most powerful countries in the world, the United States and China, are pursuing energy strategies defined mainly by economic and national security concerns, as opposed to the climate crisis. Entire industries are at stake, along with the economic and geopolitical alliances that shape the modern world.

.... The Trump administration wants to keep the world hooked on fossil fuels like oil and gas, which have powered cars and factories, warmed homes and fueled empires for more than a century. The United States is the world’s largest producer of oil and the largest exporter of natural gas, offering the potential for what Mr. Trump has called an era of American “energy dominance” that eliminates dependence on foreign countries, particularly rival powers like China.

.... While China still burns more coal than the rest of the world and emits more climate pollution than the United States and Europe combined, its pivot to cleaner alternatives is happening at breakneck speed. Not only does China already dominate global manufacturing of solar panels, wind turbines, batteries, E.V.s and many other clean energy industries, but with each passing month it is widening its technological lead..."