By Sanxuan

After reaching an agreement with India, Trump turned his attention to China.

Trump

As is well known, after the US abducted Maduro, the Trump administration almost entirely took over Venezuela's oil trade.

According to the statements from both the US and Venezuela, the general model is as follows: The US helps Venezuela repair infrastructure related to oil, lifts sanctions on Venezuela's oil, and in return, Venezuela has to give a portion of the money to the US.

More accurately, it is given to Trump himself. His exact words were that this money would be under his personal control, and he would use it for the American and Venezuelan people.

Currently, the US has started helping Venezuela find buyers for its oil, and the first one they approached was India. It is well known worldwide that India likes to buy cheap oil. Previously, it was Russian oil, but after being sanctioned by the Trump administration, Indian oil companies significantly reduced their imports of Russian oil and were eager to find alternative suppliers.

Trump said the deal with India was finalized

At just the right time, Venezuela's oil was eager to sell, so Trump thought of India. He stated that the US and India had already finalized the deal, although it had not yet been officially signed, but "in principle" it had been agreed upon.

In March last year, Trump ordered a 25% tariff on countries purchasing Venezuela's oil and gas. It now seems that this sanction may have been lifted, otherwise, given India's habit of taking advantage of small deals, it would not be willing to accept Venezuela's oil with high tariffs added.

On one hand, Trump is doing this to sell Venezuela's oil, the more he sells, the more dividends he gets. On the other hand, he is also trying to pressure Putin; if Russia's oil buyers go to purchase Venezuela's oil, the US can have more leverage at the negotiation table to force Putin to agree to a ceasefire.

Other than India, China is also a major buyer of Russian oil, and even after India stopped buying Russian oil, China continued to import it. So Trump also set his sights on China, saying he hopes China will also buy more Venezuela oil.

Putin

When Maduro was arrested, Trump once said that China did not need to worry about oil supply issues, but it turned out to be the meaning that he wanted China to take over to make money for the US.

An American official told a reporter that China could indeed buy, but the price would not be as favorable as before. American media believe that during Maduro's period, Venezuela set prices very low to sell oil, aiming for a "cheap dumping" strategy.

This statement is somewhat excessive. If it were not for Western sanctions, would either Russia or Venezuela be willing to sell oil at a discount? Now they are being accused by the US of disrupting market rules, which is really hard to explain.

It is worth mentioning that Trump is not targeting only Russia, but also Iran. He openly told reporters that if China and India buy Venezuela oil, they would not buy Iranian oil.

Foreign Ministry Response

The US is currently preparing to strike Iran. If it cuts off Iran's oil trade at this time, it would be a significant blow to Iran. Trump's intention is that China and India should help to strike Iran.

This is a bit unrealistic. What Trump wants to do is his own business, but China has no reason to support him. The Foreign Ministry's response was only one sentence: China has noticed the relevant reports.

The implication is that we understand what Trump means, but how to proceed is our own business. No one can tell China what to do. The starting point of China's decisions is China's interests, and there is no obligation to make Trump's already full pockets even fuller.



Original: toutiao.com/article/7602205533462643215/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author."