China en Olie

De Chinese president en de Saudische koning schudden elkaar de hand na uitvoerige besprekingen over olieleveranties. De Amerikaanse onderzoeksjournalist Robert Dreyfuss schrijft op zijn weblog: 'Pushing Saudi Arabia into China's Arms. Not long ago, I took part in an informal discussion with a group of Saudi Arabian businessmen and academics visiting Washington. Their unhappiness with U.S. policies in Iraq, and with regard to the Arab-Israeli dispute, was obvious. I mentioned to the Saudis that it wasn’t clear to me why Saudi Arabia insisted on maintaining the primacy of its relations with the United States in its foreign policy. Why not seek political and military guarantees from other countries? I asked. Certainly Saudi Arabia’s oil would carry a lot of weight with any other nation, and by reaching out to Russia, Europe, and China, Saudi Arabia could throw a scare into the Bush administration, which has so far pretty much taken Saudi Arabia for granted. So, I suggested, if I were king of Saudi Arabia the first thing I would go would be to get on a plane and fly to Beijing. And make nicey-nice with the Chinese. Well (certainly not because of me) that’s exactly what King Abdullah did this week. And it got the attention of the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, in the form of an intelligent, well-written op ed by Richard L. Russell of National Defense University: "It was no coincidence that Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah this week chose China for his first official trip outside the Middle East since acceding to the throne in August. … The two countries are laying the foundations for a strategic relationship that challenges U.S. interests."' Lees verder:
http://robertdreyfuss.com/blog/2006/01/pushing_saudi_arabia_into_chin.html Een verslag van het staatsbezoek vindt u hier: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2006-01/24/content_515060.htm