China will be increasingly in conflict with the United States if it continues to pursue energy deals with countries like Iran and is unlikely to gain the energy security it seeks, a senior U.S. official said on Tuesday.
Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick said he was not sure how much of Beijing's energy drive was propelled by new Chinese oil companies or by a government "strategic plan."
The article mentions Chinese overtures to Iran, Sudan, and Venezuela for Oil deals (and you could throw in Zimbabwe for general resources access) so this seems like a general complaint. It is noteworthy that our ambassador did not shrink from that conflict that he warns about. In noting that China will not gain energy security from these deals, the implication could clearly be that our military will cut them off from oil imports should there be a conflict regardless of the deals signed with rogue regimes.
Or is this a specific reference to Iran? The lead paragraph only names Iran as the example we gave of dealings with rogue regimes. And is our statement that the Iran initiative is possibly a Chinese oil company drive and perhaps not a state policy a signal that China should take this opportunity to distance itself from state responsibility for Iran deals?
Are we signaling to China that they need to stand clear of Iran? Or am I seeing what I am trying to look for--signs we are about to overthrow the mullah regime in Tehran?
