If the United States and China ever come into direct conflict, one of the main battlegrounds could be the Middle East. China is actively trying to strengthen its energy security and diversify its energy portfolio around the world, but the country remains heavily dependent on oil from the Middle East. Unfortunately for Beijing, the United States retains a significant amount of influence and military power in the region that could be used as a potent weapon in a potential war between the two global superpowers.
Maintaining a reliable and growing energy supply is essential to the health and continued growth of the Chinese economy. But as the country continues to grow, Beijing is struggling to keep up with demand. For several years in a row, China has experienced major blackouts, with entire cities sometimes simply without power for long periods. And last year, China’s energy industry was subjected to an extreme stress test as a drought wreaked havoc on the local hydropower sector.
Beijing is working hard to expand the size and scope of its own energy empire, with a focus on increasing its political and economic footprint in developing countries with significant and largely untapped energy generation potential. In addition to Beijing’s significant investments in growing energy markets in other countries, China has also surprised everyone in recent years in terms of clean energy spending. But that’s still not enough to satisfy the country’s almost insatiable thirst for additional energy supplies.
The United States is well aware of this Achilles’ heel of the Middle Kingdom, which is why the US Central Command has openly discussed the possibility of using its influence in the Middle East to pressure China. The Middle East will be essential in any US-China conflict.
While the global community of experts still hopes that the US-China conflict can be avoided, it cannot be denied that there are many contradictions in which the tensions between the very different ideologies of East and West could escalate into a conflict with far-reaching consequences. for the world’s economy and energy markets.
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