While the US and China are waging a war for supremacy in all fields, including semiconductors, crude oil, and IT, China seems to have won the victory in the international oil market.
When OPEC+ (OPEC+Russia) made a surprise production cut of 1.16 million barrels on the 2nd, the United States is embarrassed, but China is smiling.
China does not pay much attention to OPEC+ production cuts because it can import Russian crude oil cheaply even if international oil prices rise for the time being. Russia is selling crude oil to India and China at a cheap price as the way to export crude oil is blocked by Western sanctions. In fact, Russia has become the largest crude oil exporter to China this year.
In contrast, the United States is very perplexed. In particular, this cut in production seems to have a lot of intention to prey on the United States as it was carried out at a time when inflation in the United States is showing signs of being caught.
Even so, it is difficult for the US to take any special measures. The U.S. released a large amount of strategic oil reserves when the war broke out in Ukraine, and the stock is only half of the usual level.
As a result, the US media Bloomberg even evaluated that the only option for the US right now is to wait until oil prices go down.
International oil price experts said, “Saudi Arabia, the leader of the Middle East in the oil market, is making new friends like China.” .
In fact, instead of moving away from the United States, Saudi Arabia is rapidly getting closer to China. Saudi Arabia recently gained associate membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which is led by China and Russia.
The SCO is a political, economic and security consultative body launched in 2001 led by China and Russia. Eight countries, including China and Russia, are members. Not only Saudi Arabia, but also Iran, a representative enemy of the United States, is about to join the SCO as an associate member.
Moreover, through Chinese mediation, Saudi Arabia and Iran, which had been friends for so long, agreed to normalize relations. A geopolitical realignment is taking place in the Middle East, which has long been considered a sphere of US influence. China is rapidly infiltrating the Middle East, destroying US hegemony in the Middle East.
In contrast, the United States is increasingly moving away from the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia. During World War II, US President Franklin Roosevelt met with Saudi King Abdulaziz ibn Saud and laid the foundation for an oil security agreement.
The United States guaranteed security to Saudi Arabia, and Saudi Arabia guaranteed oil to the United States. Since then, the two countries have maintained a close relationship for over 70 years, and the United States has been able to control Saudi Arabia remotely and exercise hegemony in the oil market.
However, the shale gas revolution during the Barack Obama administration and the conclusion of a nuclear deal with Iran, Saudi Arabia’s rival, have estranged relations with Saudi Arabia.
In particular, as the Joe Biden administration, which values human rights, entered, the relationship with Saudi Arabia changed drastically.
Relations between the two countries have been deteriorating since the US accused Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of being behind the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and columnist for the Washington Post, in 2018.
A huge gap has opened between the orthodox allies of the United States and Saudi Arabia. China is stepping in between them.
Throughout history, hegemonic powers have dominated energy. The United States was also able to dominate the crude oil market, a modern energy source, by taking control of OPEC through Saudi Arabia.
But that era is coming to an end. Taking advantage of the loosening of US hegemony, China is effectively infiltrating the Middle East and aiming for energy hegemony. It seems that China has made significant progress, although not to the extent of turning the tide of the entire war for hegemony. Park Hyeong-ki, China expert
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