July 09, 2005

• Not real worried about it - here's why: 1) it's legal, as near as I can tell. It may turn out otherwise in the end. 2) if everything goes to hell with China, they won't be the owners for long, will they? 3) the technology they're after is available in other ways. If it's military secrets they're after, then why the hell are those secrets in civilian hands to begin with? 4) this is more political than anything. If we wanted to be consistent about spreading our ideology, then we wouldn't be doing business with them at all. We're consistently inconsistent about who we allow to be a non-democracy and how we treat them. 5) C'mon, it's Unocal - the "hey! we're over here!" of the major oil companies. 6) We get most of our oil from Canada.
• Alberta Tar Sands, my friends, Alberta Tar Sands. not really relevant here, but seems to be the thing to say nowadays in these oil discussions
• The reason we (US monkeys) don't like this is... Well. Unocal was building our (I feel comfortable saying our, as US military resources are defending its construction) pipeline from Iran through Afghanistan onto Pakistan. Now, China can control a good amount of Iran's oil output. Or something like that...
• china is the new japan.
• And on the topic of the post title, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes totally rock.
• I *twice* read this as "Chimps Invade!" and was really intrigued about China somehow using chimps in some oil takeover. I was mightily disappointed. It's been a long day. . .
• Me First and the Gimme Gimmes totally rock Glad you caught that small reference! And yes, they do...

• Now, China can control a good amount of Iran's oil output.

  That's been the case for a while, I think. There was a very big deal last October on development of an oil field: BBC story. In 2003, Iranian oil accounted for 13% of China's oil imports. China and Iran are tight.
• It's not going to raise the price of oil or keep anyone else from getting oil. This is just more xenophobic hysteria (remember how Japan was Taking Over the World back in the '80s?).
• Like others have noted, I fail to see why this is necessarily bad. So China is getting serious about its resource needs. So there is a chance Americans have to pay higher than $60 a barrel for their fix. So China's spectacular growth in the last decade has finally moved from soundbite to tangibles for the West. Hardly surprising facts these. What are we afraid of? That China and the US will have a war over resources? I highly doubt it. It's not part of the grand PNAC scheme, and the Chinese don't want any wars. Heck, any war in East Asia is likely to be against North Korea, and I can guarantee China and the US will be allies there. Of course there might be proxy wars in the middle east, but even that is hardly earth-shattering these days. That China will dethrone the US and the EU? Again, that is doubtful. I think the three poles will achieve a rough economic equality by, say, 2020. We have been headed for a multipolar world for a long time.
• Given Unocal's hideous partnership with the military junta in Burma (and associated human rights abuses), I don't have much love for the current management. (Not that China's record on human rights is anything but hideous.) But Asia Times Online had an interesting point recently: Why not just nationalize Unocal? If keeping Unocal out of Chinese hands is so important for national security, foreign policy and energy independence reasons, why doesn't the Congress take the next logical step and consider having the US government itself buy a controlling interest in Unocal? In other words, nationalize Unocal. That way, the country would have undisputed control over Unocal's resource base. A good point -- corporate America doesn't want any government interference in the marketplace! (except that which it asks for)
• Small side note: I didn't post this with the intent of it being bad - - in case anyone's sarcasm e-meter didn't register that. Rather, my way of commenting on the political debate which has already ensued...

• What are we afraid of?

  evil kittens.
• But what about this? When China Owns Our Utilities It is a great irony that on the day President Bush called for a thorough review of China's proposed acquisition of a California-based oil company, Unocal, the United States Senate voted 85-12 to send an energy bill to conference that would allow China to own local US public utilities, without a murmur from the administration, lawmakers or the media.
• This is of course futher evidence of the superiority of the socialist system (with Chinese characteristics) - we don't even have to overthrow the capitalist hegemon any more, we will merely buy you out. 开个玩笑米国同志们！
• with Chinese characteristics 开个玩笑米国同志们 Those thingies are called Chinese characters. (And they aren't available in Italics, but I tried anyway.)
• They look like italics from here.
• Ah, Comrade mare, surely you were not sleeping at the back during the many Party meetings over the years when we explained that we are building '有中国特色的' socialism that has unique characteristics that only our ancient civilisation could achieve? If I may dare to stray somewhat from the (obviously) Correct Line I must say it has always struck me that it is not in fact unique to China at all to construct a socialism that's main characteristic is that it is nothing of the sort. So our fraternal comrades in the revolutionary American republic should really rest easy about this potential buy-out. The workers and peasants of China have found that the traditional saying remains true - 'meet the new boss, same as the old boss'.
• (I don't know any Chinese, but I thought Chinese used 國 instead of 国...)
• We all know that China's economy is growing like bamboo (a mind-boggling 9% annual rate for the 25-year period from 1978 to 2003), and that it is increasingly willing to flex its muscles in politics and international finance. Less well-known is the fact that China is already the 2nd largest consumer of energy in the world. We tend to think of China as a backward country unused to casting a global shadow. But as The Economist has pointed out “China was the largest economy for much of recorded history. Until the 15th century, China had the highest income per head and was the technological leader.” Perhaps in part because of its long history, China tends to take a long view of events. While American businesses worry about next quarter, China is making decisions that will bear fruit a generation from now. And so it invests in education and manufacturing while we file dutifully into Walmart to buy their $30 DVD players. As China has become the world’s factory, it has also become the leading consumer of many industrial commodities including steel, coal and cement. And as prosperity turns Chinese workers into acquisitive consumers, their demand for the high-energy badges of modernity like automobiles is exploding. Volkswagen now sells more cars in China than in Germany.
• I should have edited that down.
• Ah, China, land of complex politics and dodgy plumbing. One Country, Two Sisterns. sorry
• cisterns sorry again
• You realize this has been in the news for over two weeks?
• Why yes, I did realize that, FUCK YEAH! Suck my balls you Gregorian calendar-following ball sucker!
• This place gets more like MeFi every day. <sigh>  
• Hope you didn't take my comment that seriously mecurious! Just continuing the running joke of the past week...
• MonkeyFilter: Me First and the Gimme Gimmes Retank, don't worry about editing down. I found what you said very interesting and spot-on.
• I thought Chinese used 國 instead of 国 The former's traditional Chinese, the latter simplified.
• As China has become the world’s factory, it has also become the leading consumer of many industrial commodities including steel A fact I've been painfully aware of over the past 2 years, as it's sent raw material prices through the roof, and has caused many problems for the small steel parts factory I work for. *shakes fist at China*
• "Unprecedented political opposition" has apparently pressured CNOOC to withdraw it's bid for UNOCAL.