With all of the diplomatic talks and sanctions in the news these days, all of the spin and Newspeak is not preventing China from buying Iran’s oil. China imported 17 billion barrels of oil in 2012 and the energy-thirsty nation will continue to import the petroleum that it needs.
In fact, demand from Asia is increasing, as if to rescind the sanctions. The sanctions almost seem toothless, if the circumvention of sales is any indication of effectiveness.
The top five countries that import oil from Iran are China, India, Japan, South Korea, and Turkey. What sanctions you ask?
The focus is usually about energy projects in this region of the world, more specifically—the Peace Pipeline—and Iran has invited India and China to the petro party. Never mind the propaganda that flows from the media. Energy is front and center and the nuclear proliferation argument might be a red herring.
“China has invested an estimated $40 billion in Iran’s oil and gas sector,” as can be observed in The Jerusalem Post. The ties between China and Iran remain strong and this relationship is likely to continue.
China has deep pockets and the political will to make this gas pipeline happen, and NATO probably doesn’t want this to materialize.
Beijing is gaining clout in this important geopolitical region and has other options. The Turkmenistan–China gas pipeline happens to be the “world’s second-largest gas field in Turkmenistan.”
What if these countries purchase the oil with gold and dodge the dollar? Is this the precipice that follows?
