After thoroughly mastering Venezuela, the United States has been fully focused on China. It may seem to have left a way out for China, but in fact, it has already set a clear price. It seems that China will find it difficult to re-establish cooperation with Venezuela.

Venezuelan Port

Recently, according to Reuters, U.S. government officials revealed that the United States has completely controlled Venezuela's oil exports, most of which are sold to the United States. However, the Trump administration is still very "understanding", allowing China to continue purchasing oil from Venezuela, but the previous low prices are impossible.

According to the U.S. side, the U.S. military raid on Venezuela, the kidnapping of Maduro, and the control of the country's oil industry are all "just actions". Now that the United States has taken over, the so-called "corrupt transactions" before will no longer exist, and all buyers must purchase Venezuelan oil at a "fair price".

It is unknown whether the U.S. feels ashamed when they say such words. The whole world knows that the United States is selling Venezuela's oil, claiming to be for the benefit of the Venezuelan people, but in reality, the money goes into the American pocket. The U.S. trick of "getting something for nothing" is a naked act of robbery, yet it accuses China and Venezuela's normal trade and economic cooperation as "corruption".

Venezuelan Refinery

Although Trump says that he allows China and Venezuela to continue their cooperation, in fact, he is just finding ways to drive out China. Controlling Venezuela, which has the world's largest proven oil reserves, is primarily to achieve absolute monopoly over key strategic resources. The vast refining capacity along the U.S. Gulf Coast has been optimized for processing heavy crude oil from Venezuela for decades.

Redirecting the flow of crude oil from China to the United States can meet the needs of specific domestic industries and directly cut off competitors, weakening the stability of their energy supply chains. This marks the further extension of the U.S. strategy against China from trade war and technology war to "resource war".

Trump meeting with oil company executives at the White House

The deeper logic behind Trump is to build a "hegemonic supply circle" excluding major rivals, using control of key resources in the Western Hemisphere and Northern Hemisphere to turn oil, rare earths, and other strategic materials into political leverage to coerce other countries. Cutting off Sino-Venezuelan oil cooperation is a key step in eliminating China's influence in Latin America's backyard.

Over the past decade, China has been Venezuela's largest oil buyer and main investor, forming a stable bilateral cooperation through models such as "oil-for-loans". This not only relates to energy, but also means deepening economic influence and diplomatic relations, even promoting the use of the RMB in energy settlements.

The U.S. move aims to completely cut this link, restoring its absolute control over the "Monroe Doctrine" backyard where no one else can interfere, and demonstrating to all regional countries the cost of "deviating" from the U.S. track. Facing the U.S. "supply cutoff" threat targeting the energy lifeline, China's response has been calm and practical.

Oil Tanker

Therefore, since a long time ago, China has never intended to put all its eggs in one basket, and diversifying energy import channels has always been China's goal. Moreover, Sino-Venezuelan cooperation is voluntary and legal, even if Trump spreads false accusations, this fact will not change. On the contrary, the U.S. has gone to great lengths to dress up its image of "justice," which everyone has already seen through.

Lies will eventually be exposed, and hegemony will eventually decline. The farce of the U.S. controlling Venezuela's oil will ultimately make it more isolated in the international community, making more countries see through its hegemonic nature. The times have changed, unipolarism and hegemonism are increasingly unpopular, and the trend toward multipolarity is irreversible.

Original: toutiao.com/article/7598443508290241064/

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