On the historical, cultural, economic and political power of the People's Republic of China

In my geography classes, when I explained the political geography of the world, I used to say that there are several kinds of countries: small and medium-sized countries, the main world powers (such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia and France) and a separate and distinct category : China
This classification of China as a state belonging to a different category is expressed in three or four data that show the Chinese uniqueness worldwide.
In the first place, China is the country with the largest population in the world (1,400 million inhabitants),
Second, they have, by far, the largest ethnic group in the world: the Han ethnic group representing 92% of the population or 1,200 million people (in China). 
Thirdly, China icludes the largest number of people who write and read the same language (written) in one country (the Han script).
And fourth they have  the oldest history of any country in the world (4,000 years).
Although China had serious economic and political problems during the nineteenth and twentieth century, after the revolution in 1947 it managed to control its own destiny and solve the situation of poverty in which declive the majority of the population lived I was witness to that change. In 1989 I toured much of China and did not witness any begging situation as was seen in other Third World countries. The situation only improved since then.
After the 1990s the Chinese state established a mixed system (including strong elements of capitalism) and achieved a very rapid economic development that transformed it into the first economy in the world, displacing in the last years the USA, Japan and the European powers.
An element that allows to appraise the Chinese economic power is its financial power. At present, the largest banks in the world are located in China.
The 10 largest banks in the world
The 10 largest banks in the world belong to five countries; China, Japan, USA, United Kingdom and France.
The four largest ones are in China
The largest is: Industrial and Commercial Bank of China with a capital of 4 trillion (4,000,000,000,000) dollars,
Second, China Construction Bank Corporation with 2.4 billion, Third, the Agricultural Bank of China with 3.2 billion dollars and in four place the Bank of China with 2.9991 billion dollars.
The next six largest banks are Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group of Japan, JPMorgan Chase & Co of the United States, HSBC Holdings PLC of the United Kingdom, BNP Paribas of France, Bank of America of the United States and Credit Agricole of France.

(to continue)

Oil trading in yuan, may be a threat to the US dollar

The imminent introduction of oil trading in yuan is a very bold move by the Chinese, because the US will not give up the basis of its hegemony – the dollar as the world’s reserve currency – without a fight, Max Keiser, host of RT’s financial program ‘Keiser Report' has said.

The Chinese plan to roll out a yuan-denominated oil contract before the end of this year is a very brave move, since countries who “tried to exit the oil-dollar matrix have met terrible ends,” Keiser pointed out.

“Saddam Hussein wanted to trade oil in Euros and he was killed, Muammar Gaddafi wanted to trade his energy in something other than the US dollar – he was killed,” Keiser said.

China, however, has the resolve and the resources to pull-off the de-dollarization, and besides, it’s backed by several major countries which are “resistant to America’s financial cartel,” namely Russia and Iran, Keiser said.

 “Kudos to China for taking this project on and of course they are rumored to be a big buyer in the Aramco offering of their state oil facilities coming down the pike,” Keiser said, referring to the anticipated sales of shares in the Saudi Aramco state oil company.

“This makes sense, geopolitical sense, in terms you’ve got China and Russia and the Saudis looking to escape the US dollar, US dollar hegemony.”

Saudi Arabia was pushed to the de-dollarization crowd only recently by the US itself, which, last year, allowed survivors and relatives of the victims of the 9/11 attack to sue the kingdom over its alleged role in the terrorist acts, Keiser stated.

“There’s decently motivation for the Saudis. They want to float Aramco, they are deeply in debt and they are running out of cash. And they wanted to do an APO [alternative public offering] of Aramco either on London or American exchange, but they prevented from doing so from the legal actions of the 9/11 survivors, who rightly pointed at Saudis as the cause of 9/11,” Keiser noted.

Countries worldwide are tired of funding the America’s “military adventurism by being a party to the ‘Empire of Debt,’ as it’s known around the world – the US dollar,” and therefore, will likely join the de-dollarization movement, Keiser said.

The US financial sector and its military-industrial complex are unlikely to give up the dollar hegemony without a fight, though, as the dollar is both the basis and the main product of America. And the US will use its other favorite tool for it – war, Keiser believes.

“Maybe they will start a war between Japan and China, and maybe they will start a war with North Korea. America will do anything to keep the US dollar as the world’s reserve currency,” Keiser said.

“They will invade the countries, like Afghanistan, they will stop at nothing. Because this is the basis of the US empire. It’s not land-based, it’s not based on material goods, it’s based on rent-seeking. It’s based on landing dollars, getting out income and when countries can’t pay they dismantle the assets and take them over. We saw it in Latin America, South America, this is how America built its empire.”

China, however, has the resolve and the resources to pull-off the de-dollarization, and besides, it’s backed by several major countries which are “resistant to America’s financial cartel,” namely Russia and Iran, Keiser said.

Kudos to China for taking this project on and of course they are rumored to be a big buyer in the Aramco offering of their state oil facilities coming down the pike,” Keiser said, referring to the anticipated sales of shares in the Saudi Aramco state oil company.

“This makes sense, geopolitical sense, in terms you’ve got China and Russia and the Saudis looking to escape the US dollar, US dollar hegemony.”

Saudi Arabia was pushed to the de-dollarization crowd only recently by the US itself, which, last year, allowed survivors and relatives of the victims of the 9/11 attack to sue the kingdom over its alleged role in the terrorist acts, Keiser stated.

“There’s decently motivation for the Saudis. They want to float Aramco, they are deeply in debt and they are running out of cash. And they wanted to do an APO [alternative public offering] of Aramco either on London or American exchange, but they prevented from doing so from the legal actions of the 9/11 survivors, who rightly pointed at Saudis as the cause of 9/11,” Keiser noted.

Countries worldwide are tired of funding the America’s “military adventurism by being a party to the ‘Empire of Debt,’ as it’s known around the world – the US dollar,” and therefore, will likely join the de-dollarization movement, Keiser said.

The US financial sector and its military-industrial complex are unlikely to give up the dollar hegemony without a fight, though, as the dollar is both the basis and the main product of America. And the US will use its other favorite tool for it – war, Keiser believes.

“Maybe they will start a war between Japan and China, and maybe they will start a war with North Korea. America will do anything to keep the US dollar as the world’s reserve currency,” Keiser said.

“They will invade the countries, like Afghanistan, they will stop at nothing. Because this is the basis of the US empire. It’s not land-based, it’s not based on material goods, it’s based on rent-seeking. It’s based on landing dollars, getting out income and when countries can’t pay they dismantle the assets and take them over. We saw it in Latin America, South America, this is how America built its empire.”

From rt.com

https://www.rt.com/business/407789-us-petro-dollar-yuan/

On the historical, cultural, economic and political power of the People's Republic of China

In my geography classes, when I explained the political geography of the world, I used to say that there are several kinds of countries: small and medium-sized countries, the main world powers (such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia and France) and a separate and distinct category : China
This classification of China as a state belonging to a different category is expressed in three or four data that show the Chinese uniqueness worldwide.
In the first place, China is the country with the largest population in the world (1,400 million inhabitants),
Second, they have, by far, the largest ethnic group in the world: the Han ethnic group representing 92% of the population or 1,200 million people (in China). 
Thirdly, China icludes the largest number of people who write and read the same language (written) in one country (the Han script).
And fourth they have  the oldest history of any country in the world (4,000 years).
Although China had serious economic and political problems during the nineteenth and twentieth century, after the revolution in 1947 it managed to control its own destiny and solve the situation of poverty in which declive the majority of the population lived I was witness to that change. In 1989 I toured much of China and did not witness any begging situation as was seen in other Third World countries. The situation only improved since then.
After the 1990s the Chinese state established a mixed system (including strong elements of capitalism) and achieved a very rapid economic development that transformed it into the first economy in the world, displacing in the last years the USA, Japan and the European powers.
An element that allows to appraise the Chinese economic power is its financial power. At present, the largest banks in the world are located in China.
The 10 largest banks in the world
The 10 largest banks in the world belong to five countries; China, Japan, USA, United Kingdom and France.
The four largest ones are in China
The largest is: Industrial and Commercial Bank of China with a capital of 4 trillion (4,000,000,000,000) dollars,
Second, China Construction Bank Corporation with 2.4 billion, Third, the Agricultural Bank of China with 3.2 billion dollars and in four place the Bank of China with 2.9991 billion dollars.
The next six largest banks are Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group of Japan, JPMorgan Chase & Co of the United States, HSBC Holdings PLC of the United Kingdom, BNP Paribas of France, Bank of America of the United States and Credit Agricole of France.

(to continue)

Kashmir, a centuries-old conflict that still is going on

The Kashmir region also called Jammu and Kashmir is a mountainous region in the vicinity of the Karakoram and westernmost Himalayan mountain ranges of the Indian subcontinente.  

Kashmir, formerly one of the largest princely states of India, has an area of 225,000 km2 and since the partition of the subcontinent in 1947 has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan and China ´

The region was divided amongst these three countries in a territorial dispute: Pakistan controls the northwest portion (Northern Areas and Kashmir), India controls the central and southern portion (Jammu and Kashmir) and Ladakh, and the People's Republic of China controls the northeastern portion (Aksai Chin and the Trans-Karakoram Tract). India controls the majority of the Siachen Glacier area, including the Saltoro Ridge passes, whilst Pakistan controls the lower territory just southwest of the Saltoro Ridge. India controls 101,338 km2 of the disputed territory, Pakistan controls 85,846 km2 , and the People's Republic of China controls the remaining 37,555 km2 

The population of the entire region is about 16 million of which the majority are in the Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir (12.5 million).

Although there was a clear Muslim majority in Kashmir before the 1947 partition and its economic, cultural, and geographic contiguity with the Muslim-majority area of the Punjab (in Pakistan) could be convincingly demonstrated, the political developments during and after the partition resulted in a division of the region. Pakistan was left with territory that, although basically Muslim in character, was thinly populated, relatively inaccessible, and economically underdeveloped. The largest Muslim group, situated in the Valley of Kashmir and estimated to number more than half the population of the entire region, lay in Indian-administered territory, with its former outlets via the Jhelum valley route blocked.

The eastern region of the former princely state of Kashmir was also involved in a boundary dispute that began in the late 19th century and continues into the 21st. Although some boundary agreements were signed between Great Britain, Afghanistan and Russia over the northern borders of Kashmir, China never accepted these agreements, and China's official position has not changed following the communist revolution of  1949 that established the People's Republic of China. By the mid-1950s the Chinese had entered the north-east portion of Ladakh.

"By 1956–57 they had completed a military road through the Aksar Chin area to vide better communication between Xinjiang and  western  Tibet. India's belated discovery of this road led to border clashes between the two countries that culminated in the Sino.Indian war of October 1962.

The main preent conflicts are mainly between India and Pakistan, with the large Muslin population in the Indian state Jammu-Kashmir do not agree with their belonging to an Indian state and are more linked to the Pakistan Kashmir population.  This conflict, which is at least 70 years old is still going on in 2019 and skirmiches and aerial bombing continues to take place and will probably still go on for many years in the future..

Why Africa loves China

Contrary to what the West believes, Africans do not see themselves as victims of Chinese economic exploitation.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and African leaders clap during a group photo session during the FOCAC Summit in Beijing, China, September 3, 2018 [File: How Hwee Young/Reuters]

At the September 2018 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Beijing, African Union Chairperson and Rwandan President Paul Kagame lauded the Chinese aid and investment strategy in Africa as a source of "deep transformation" Kagame argued that the cooperation between China and Africa is based on mutual respect and is for the benefit of both partners. This sentiment is perhaps shared by most African heads of states and governments if their attendance of the summit is anything to go by.

However, despite the African leadership's embrace of China as a valued partner, the view that Beijing is a "predatory" actor in Africa, attempting to recolonise the continent is also ubiquitous in foreign policy circles, media narratives and academia.

Africa sees China differently than the West

The China-Africa relationship is currently being interpreted through two diametrically opposed perceptions.

The first of the two is a Sino-phobic one, mostly adopted in the West. For instance, in a recent policy briefing at the Heritage Foundation, US National Security Adviser John Bolton criticised China's actions in Africa and claimed the continent has fallen victim to Beijing's new colonialism. "China uses bribes, opaque agreements, and the strategic use of debt to hold states in Africa captive to Beijing's wishes and demands," Bolton said.

"Such predatory actions are sub-components of broader Chinese strategic initiatives, including 'One Belt, One Road' - a plan to develop a series of trade routes leading to and from China with the ultimate goal of advancing Chinese global dominance."

Just like the US, other western governments, such as the UK and France, also see China's engagement in Africa as a cause for concern. For them, China is a spoiler of peace in oil-rich countries such as South Sudan and Sudan, and a supporter of despots in African countries, such as Gabon. Moreover, they perceive China as a resource and energy-hungry giant, an exploiter of corrupt and incompetent governments, a trade opportunist, and a massive polluter of the African environment.

The second and opposing perception of the partnership between Beijing and Africa is a pro-China one. This view is adopted mostly in Africa.

According to the proponents of this narrative, China is a saviour - a trustworthy ally of Africa. They view China, a country that does not have a history of colonial aspirations in Africa, as a partner which could provide much-needed funding without any strings attached. They also believe Beijing understands and respects Africa's priorities.

Moreover, China has a reputation among African countries for being an actor that respects other cultures and states. This view is widely held by many African heads of state. 

Much of the academic literature on the China-Africa partnership unjustifiably perpetuates the Sino-phobic narrative. The media also wrongly portrays China as a predatory actor in Africa. For instance, while it is widely reported that China invests more in the extractive industry than in other sectors, the fact that the extractive industry amounts only to one third of the total Chinese investment in Africa is barely mentioned. 

The other two-thirds of China's investment in Africa is in infrastructure, construction, electricity production, manufacturing and finance. In fact, compared with the US and other developed countries, China's share in extractive investments in Africa, in the form of mining, for example, is lower.

Africa is not a victim of Chinese 'colonisation'

The Sino-phobic narrative championed by the West portrays African nations as passive collaborators, as mere victims of a second "colonisation" wave. However, this is not the case.

Africans are well aware of the shortcomings of Chinese assistance and business in Africa - from an imbalance in trade to hefty debt, from poor quality goods to corrupt practices. Africans also know that many Chinese investors lack considerations of sustainability and that some business dealings are in some instances incompatible with the national interests of African countries. Furthermore, Africans recognise that Chinese businesses rarely fight corrupt practices and seek to avoid accountability.  

Africans expect China to take some responsibility for some of these shortcomings, but also acknowledge that the weaknesses of African regulatory and enforcement mechanisms, as well as self-serving governments, are the main culprits. They know that Chinese companies, like many others, exploit the weaknesses of African states for their advantage. They believe it is their own governments, and not China, that need to make sure Africa is not exploited. 

As a result, Africans see the Western criticisms of the China-Africa cooperation with serious reservations. At the FOCAC meeting in September, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa summarised the African position by saying that Africa "refutes the view that a new colonialism is taking hold in Africa as our detractors would have us believe."

Why Africa loves China 

The debt trap is not an inevitable outcome of loans: As President Kagame said, the outcome "depends on us Africans". The key factor that determines the success of Chinese loans to Africa is whether or not African governments use such loans for productive capital investment. For these investments to succeed, African governments need to be accountable to the people of Africa. This is not the responsibility of China or any other non-African country, for that matter; rather it is Africans who are responsible to ensure accountability. 

There are some obvious reasons that make China a preferred partner for Africa. For Africans, China has four major attractions: Unconditional soft loans and access to capital; quick delivery of services and cheap goods; funding of peacekeeping; and an alternative development model. 

First, China's unconditional cooperation has allowed African governments to enjoy access to finance, expertise and development aid. In 2016, the trade between China and Africa reached $128bn, a drastic surge from $1bn in 1980.

At FOCAC in Beijing this year, China offered $60bn for development financing until 2021. While the financial crises in the US and EU limited their investments in Africa, China commited to investing more in the continent.

Chinese soft loans have enabled many African governments to avoid pressure from global governance institutions such as IMF and World Bank to meet Western norms of accountability and conditionality related to political and economic reforms, such as the infamous structural adjustment that does not always serve the interest of Africans.

Second, China has aided African governments to meet their people's rapidly growing demands for services and infrastructure more quickly. Many people in Africa are now used to quick delivery of services - such as transportation, education, health and telecommunication - by Chinese companies. This has created, and will continue to create, more appetite for Chinese business in Africa.

Third, China is now also engaged in peace and security projects in Africa. Chinese troops participate in eight UN peacekeeping missions of which five are in Africa. Moreover, China is the second largest financial contributor to UN peacekeeping missions and it also contribute funding to the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and the IGAD South Sudan mediation. 

Fourth, China's history of fast and successful economic growth is a model from which many lessons could be learned in Africa. China's capacity to ensure policy sovereignty remains relevant, and highly attractive to African leaders and scholars. According to the World Bank, in about 40 years, China has lifted about 00 million people out of poverty through its untraditional path of development. Notably, it has achieved many of the Millennium Development Goals. 

Africans should take a page from China's playbook on development and sovereignty. They can keep their home in order and also make the best out of the competition between great powers and regional players whether they they are from the West, Far East or the Middle East.

As things stand, China is already winning the hearts and the minds of Africans. The West will have to either change tact or forever play catch up.

by Mehari Taddele Maru

From: Aljazeera.com

The devil you know: Old foes India & China strengthen ties as America proves too unreliable

Regarding this two subcontinental countries we should remember first that in their 13 milliion square kilometers, China and India together possess a population of more than 2,600 million people which represents one third of the world population. They also have a 4,000 km long border which in some cases has become the theater of armed confrontations. Here we reproduce an analysis of the present situation connsidering the worldwide geopolitical unstability and uncertainty (author: Darius Shahtahmasebi)

"China and India have had a rocky relationship for years and are continuing to find areas of dispute. However, the two countries have managed to end the year on an amicable high-note, proving that rival nations can cooperate.

Together, China and India account for just under 3 billion of the world’s total population. The decisions that the leaders of these two countries make is therefore relevant for approximately a third of the global population. Whether or not these two regional players are on a path to peace or war is something the western mainstream media should pay its undivided attention to.

While outrageously underreported in the corporate media, India and China  experienced a brief skirmish on he Indo-Tibetan border in August last year. Video footage of the skirmishes shows soldiers kicking, punching and throwing stones at each other on the border, which appeared to symbolize a potential escalation between the two Asian powers. The two nations maintain a tense border dispute with hundreds of soldiers stationed just meters apart.

India has also been rattled by China’s overt support and rising participation in Pakistan. India remains unnerved by the $60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), part of China’s Silk Road Project Reports have also emerged that China has been considering establishing its own naval bases in Pakistan, even though both Pakistan and China have denied such a claim.

China has only one overseas military base, currently in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa. In other words, China’s only overseas military base puts China’s logistical military hubs in the Indian ocean, a constant source of tension for India.

However, despite this, no such escalation has appeared to eventuate since the skirmishes in August. In fact, China and India have both taken steps to reduce tensions and may have found a middle path to pursue their conflicting interests. As explained further below, these conflicting interests are not to be taken lightly.

Just recently, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi took a four-day visit to India to meet high-level Indian officials, including India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. It should be noted that India is China’s largest trading partner, with a trade deficit in favor of China by about $63 billion during 2017-2018.

China and India have had a rocky relationship for years and are continuing to find areas of dispute. However, the two countries have managed to end the year on an amicable high-note, proving that rival nations can cooperate.

Together, China and India account for just under 3 billion of the world’s total population. The decisions that the leaders of these two countries make is therefore relevant for approximately a third of the global population. Whether or not these two regional players are on a path to peace or war is something the western mainstream media should pay its undivided attention to.

While outrageously underreported in the corporate media, India and China experienced a brief skirmish on the Indo-Tibetan border in August last year. Video footage of the skirmishes shows soldiers kicking, punching and throwing stones at each other on the border, which appeared to symbolize a potential escalation between the two Asian powers. The two nations maintain a tense border dispute with hundreds of soldiers stationed just meters apart.

India has also been rattled by China’s overt support and rising participation in Pakistan. India remains unnerved by the $60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), part of China’s Silk Road Project. Reports have also emerged that China has been considering establishing its own naval bases in Pakistan, even though both Pakistan and China have denied such a claim.

China has only one overseas military base, currently in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa. In other words, China’s only overseas military base puts China’s logistical military hubs in the Indian ocean, a constant source of tension for India.

However, despite this, no such escalation has appeared to eventuate since the skirmishes in August. In fact, China and India have both taken steps to reduce tensions and may have found a middle path to pursue their conflicting interests. As explained further below, these conflicting interests are not to be taken lightly.

Just recently, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi took a four-day visit to India to meet high-level Indian officials, including India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. It should be noted that India is China’s largest trading partner, with a trade deficit in favor of China by about $63 billion during 2017-2018.

Altogether, Chinese President Xi Jinping and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi have met four times this year alone; and India’s defense minister Nirmala Sitharaman and her Chinese counterpart, Wei Fenghe, have also met three times this year. During these meetings, China has agreed to some concessions, including an agreement to increase its imports of Indian rice, sugar, rapeseed oil and pharmaceuticals.

It is also worth noting that China and India also just completed a joint anti-terrorism military exercise in the Chengdu area of China.

Furthermore, there are some suggestions that China and India may begin working closer together on the issue of Afghanistan as well. Given the Trump administration’s surprise announcement that it will withdraw thousands of troops from the war-torn country, this partnership between China and India may become a distinct possibility.

This is not to say that India does not maintain its wariness of China’s expanding influence in the region.

According to a recent paper entitled “From Denial to Punishment: The Security Dilemma and Changes in India’s Military Strategy Towards China” in Asian Security by Anit Mukherjee and Yogesh Joshi the power imbalance between India and China is no longer manageable. China has rapidly developed its infrastructure, modernized its military and taken a more aggressive stance at the border (as seen in the skirmishes last year), leading India to adopt some strategies of its own. The result is that India will embrace a more active and offensive posture, as opposed to a defensive one.

At the beginning of December, Indian media reported that India was taking steps to counter China’s “strategic footprint” in the Indian Ocean. Specifically, it has approved the construction of 56 new warships and six submarines for its navy over the next decade. One of the submarines will reportedly be from Project-75I, a $US12 billion initiative to “acquire advanced subs equipped with air-independent-propulsion systems that allow non-nuclear subs to operate without atmospheric oxygen, replacing or augmenting diesel-electric systems,” according to Business Insider.

Altogether, Chinese President Xi Jinping and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi have met four times this year alone; and India’s defense minister Nirmala Sitharaman and her Chinese counterpart, Wei Fenghe, have also met three times this year. During these meetings, China has agreed to some concessions, including an agreement to increase its imports of Indian rice, sugar, rapeseed oil and pharmaceuticals.

It is also worth noting that China and India also just completed a joint anti-terrorism military exercise in the Chengdu area of China.

Furthermore, there are some suggestionsthat China and India may begin working closer together on the issue of Afghanistan as well. Given the Trump administration’s surprise announcement that it will withdraw thousands of troops from the war-torn country, this partnership between China and India may become a distinct possibility.

This is not to say that India does not maintain its wariness of China’s expanding influence in the region.

According to a recent paper entitled “From Denial to Punishment: The Security Dilemma and Changes in India’s Military Strategy Towards China” in Asian Security by Anit Mukherjee and Yogesh Joshi the power imbalance between India and China is no longer manageable. China has rapidly developed its infrastructure, modernized its military and taken a more aggressive stance at the border (as seen in the skirmishes last year), leading India to adopt some strategies of its own. The result is that India will embrace a more active and offensive posture, as opposed to a defensive one.

At the beginning of December, Indian media reported that India was taking steps to counter China’s “strategic footprint” in the Indian Ocean. Specifically, it has approved the construction of 56 new warships and six submarines for its navy over the next decade. One of the submarines will reportedly be from Project-75I, a $US12 billion initiative to “acqiore advanced subs equippedequipped with air-independent-propulsion systems that allow non-nuclear subs to operate without atmospheric oxygen, replacing or augmenting diesel-electric systems,” according to Business Insider."

Author:

Darius Shahtahmasebi 

Reproduced from:

https://www.rt.com/op-ed/447544-india-china-relations-rivals/

The petro.yuan is the main bet of Rusia and China

Ariel Noyola Rodríguez- RT

Instead of humiliating Russia, the 'economic war' promoted by Washington and Brussels was counterproductive, as it only helped to strengthen the energy dumbbell between Moscow and Beijing. Recall that in May 2014 the Russian company Gazprom undertook to guarantee the supply of gas to China for up to 38 billion cubic meters per year during the next three decades (from 2018) by signing a contract for 400,000 billion dollars with the National Petroleum Corporation of China (CNPC).

Nowadays both powers coordinate the work of an ambitious plan of strategic projects that includes the construction of gas pipelines and pipelines, rather than the joint operation of refineries and large petrochemical complexes. Unwittingly, Moscow's rapprochement with Beijing produced profound transformations in the world oil market in favor of the East, dramatically undermining the influence of Western oil companies.

Moscow and Beijing have made their oil exchanges a channel of transition towards a multipolar monetary system

Even Saudi Arabia, which until recently remained the main oil supplier of the Asian giant, has been plagued by Kremlin diplomacy. While oil exports from Saudi Arabia to China have been increasing at a rate of 120,000 barrels per day since 2011, Russia's oil exports at a rate of 550,000 barrels a day, or almost five times as fast, In fact, in 2015, Russian companies were able to exceed four times the oil sales of their Saudi counterparts to China: Riyadh had to settle for being the second largest supplier of crude in Beijing in May, September, November and December. 

It should be noted that the countries that make up the European core have also seen their market share decline vis-à-vis the Asian region: Germany, for example, was supplanted by China at the end of 2015 as the largest buyer of Russian oil. Thus, large investors operating in the world oil market can hardly give credit for how, in a few months, the main claimant (China) became the favorite customer of the third largest producer (Russia). According to the vice president of Transneft (the Russian company in charge of the implementation of the national pipelines), Sergei Andronov, China is willing to import a total volume of 27 million tons of oil from Russia throughout 2016.

 The dollar in the middle of multiple currenciesThe US dollar hits the new world order

The Russian-Chinese energy alliance has set out to go further. Moscow and Beijing have made their oil exchanges a channel of transition to a multi-polar monetary system, ie one that is not based solely on the dollar, but takes into account several currencies and above all, reflects the correlation of forces of the present world order. The economic sanctions imposed by Washington and Brussels encouraged the Russians to eliminate the dollar and the euro from their commercial and financial transactions, otherwise they would be too exposed to sabotage when buying and selling transactions with its main partners. 

For that reason since the middle of 2015 the hydrocarbons that China buys to Russia are paid in yuan, not in dollars, information that has been confirmed by senior executives of Gazprom Neft, the oil arm of Gazprom. This encourages the use of "people's currency" (renminbi) in the world oil market while allowing Russia to neutralize the economic offensive launched by the United States and the European Union. The foundations of a new financial order based on petroyuan are emerging: the Chinese currency is poised to become the hub of Asia-Pacific trade with the major oil powers.

(to be continued)

https://actualidad.rt.com/opinion/ariel-noyola-rodriguez/207076-petroyuan-gran-apuesta-rusia-china

On the possible exploitation of methane hydrates from the seabed

The news

China has for the first time extracted gas from an ice-like substance under the South China Sea considered key to future global energy supply.
Chinese authorities have described success as a breakthrough.
Methane hydrates, also called "flammable ice", contain large reserves of natural gas.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-39971667

Basic data on methane hydrates.
Methane hydrates (methane clathrates) are extremely abundant on the seabed. Each solid liter of the hydrate contains 168 liters of methane at atmospheric pressure.
The nominal composition of methane clathrate hydrate is (CH4) 4 (H2O) 23, ie one mole of methane per 5.75 moles of water, corresponding to 13.4% methane. The actual composition depends on how many methane molecules fit into the structures of the water network. The most frequent density is around 0.9 g / cm3, for that reason the methane hydrate will float to the surface of the sea unless it is consolidated in a sedimentary plot that prevents him from ascending.
Therefore, one liter of fully saturated methane clathrate would contain approximately 120 grams of methane (or about 169 liters of methane gas at 0 ° C and 1 atm).
Naturally, methane hydrates occur in oceanic deposits on the continental shelf. They can also occur in deep sediment strata or near the sediment-water interface. They may be on the top of surging methane flows. According to the abiotic theory, the emanation of methane from depth is common in ocean bottoms, and therefore, the amounts of methane hydrates can be very large. There are also those who maintain that methane hydrates are formed by the action of organisms that live or are deposited on the seabed (biotic theory). Personally, I believe that there is increasing evidence of the deep origin of methane and the hydrocarbons derived from it. 
These deposits are located within an area of ​​average depth of about 300-500 m in sediment thickness where they coexist with the dissolved methane in fresh water of the pores of the sediments. Above this zone, methane is only present in its dissolved form at concentrations that decrease towards the surface of the sediment. Below it, the methane is gaseous. In the case of Blake Ridge on the continental shelf of the Atlantic Ocean, the stability zone of the methane hydrate began at 190 m depth and continued at 450 m where it reached equilibrium with the gas phase. Measurements indicated that methane occupied between 0 and 9% of the volume in the above-mentioned stability zone and 12% in the gaseous zone
Existing volumes of methane hydrates globally are estimated at several cubic kilometers (there are varying estimates but probably more (or more) of 5 km3 (5,000 million m3). According to these considerations methane hydrates could represent an important source of energy if they were exploited and hence the importance attached to this technological advancement of China.
Danilo Antón