The CHN/ China thread

[Jimbuna]

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[Jimbuna]

China lashes out at 'extremely irresponsible' claim it launched cyberattacks on US

China has responded furiously after it was accused of being behind an "unprecedented increase" in cyberattacks on US infrastructure.

FBI Director Christopher Wray had said his department was "laser-focused" on Beijing's attempts to insert malicious software code - known as malware - into computer networks in the United States.

Wray's comments follow claims that China hacked critical infrastructure systems in the United States with the intent of seizing control of them ahead of any major crisis or conflict.

A joint Cybersecurity Advisory alert issued on February 7 claimed that Chinese hackers had infiltrated "Communications, Energy, Transportation Systems, and Waste and Wastewater Systems Sectors - in the continental and non-continental United States and its territories".

Expand article logo Continue reading
The state-sponsored hackers, known as Volt Typhoon, reportedly maintained access to the US systems for "at least five years" before the hack was discovered.

However, the claims have prompted a furious response from Beijing, with Chinese Communist Party officials claiming to have proof that the US had orchestrated cyber-attacks on China's infrastructure.

Mao Ning, deputy director of information at the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said: "China firmly opposes and combats any form of cyberattacks in accordance with the law.

"The United States has made a rash conclusion in the absence of effective evidence, and is extremely irresponsible for groundless accusations and smears China, which is purely confusing right and wrong.

"China firmly opposes this. In fact, it is the US Cyber Army Command that openly lists the key infrastructure of other countries as the legitimate target of cyber attacks."

Mao Ning went on to accuse the US of cyber-attacks on China. She claimed that, since last year, China's cyber security agencies had released reports "exposing the US government's long-term cyber attacks on China's critical infrastructure".

"This irresponsible policy and practice has put the global critical infrastructure at great risk," she fumed. "The United States should stop engaging in cyber theft and attacks on a global scale, and stop using cyber security issues to smear other countries," added Mao.
This weekend, after attending the Munich Security Conference, FBI Director Wray had said: "We're laser-focused on this as a real threat and we're working with a lot of partners to try to identify it, anticipate it, and disrupt it.

"I'm sober and clear-minded about what we're up against . . . We're always going to have to be kind of on the balls of our feet.

Wray said hackers like Volt Typhoon were the tip of the iceberg - claiming that China was inserting "offensive weapons within our critical infrastructure poised to attack whenever Beijing decides the time is right",
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world...f1e95aac&ei=22

[Dargo]

Foreign investment China plummets to lowest level in 30 years

Foreign investors seem to be losing faith in China's economy. The amount of capital poured into the world's second largest economy plummeted a whopping 82 percent last year from the year before, Bloomberg news agency reported, based on official Chinese figures. Foreign companies have not invested so little in China since 1993. It is another blow, after foreign investors' confidence in the Chinese market had previously been dealt a blow by the collapse of real estate giant Evergrande. Still, analysts are not surprised. "The market in China is not what it used to be," sums up Rabobank economist Teeuwe Mevissen. "China is no longer a real low-wage country. There are companies that are therefore diverting investments to Vietnam or India. In addition, foreign companies find that in China, despite all the promises, there is still hardly a level playing field. Homegrown companies are given preferential treatment. And then there are the geopolitical tensions."

By this, Mevissen is referring to the ever-increasing discord between China and Taiwan. China considers that country a renegade province. According to the figures, companies from the neighboring country, traditionally the largest in China, did not invest as little as last year since 2001. An escalation between the two countries is also feared far beyond Taiwan. "Companies are becoming wary. If war comes with Taiwan, will we run the same risks with sanctions against China, as happened in Russia after the invasion of Ukraine?" argues Mevissen. Economist Arjen van Dijkhuizen of ABN Amro also sees this: "The geopolitical situation determines how much risk companies are willing to take. Look at investments after the problems in Chinese real estate. Since Russia invaded neighboring Ukraine, they also start thinking differently about China."

Van Dijkhuizen additionally sees that interest rates play into considerations for investing in China. "In the West, central banks have raised interest rates enormously. You can earn more, so to speak, as a company by putting your money in the bank there than investing riskily in China. Of course, that can turn around when interest rates come down." That does not apply to other business in China, according to Van Dijkhuizen. "You see Western countries slowly decoupling from China. On the one hand because of supply problems such as during the corona pandemic and now again because of pirates in the Red Sea. On the other hand, there are the increased geopolitical risks. In case of an escalation in Taiwan, for example, such a decoupling could accelerate." Rabobank's Mevissen says that in the West, companies have set up a so-called "China+1 strategy. "Companies continue to keep their factories open in China, but invest in new ones elsewhere in the world or at home. The West wants to make more itself. Chips are an important example. But also consider the auto industry, solar panels and batteries. In the U.S., President Biden has adopted the China policy of his predecessor Trump. Europe has long tried to save the cabbage and the goat, but we have now lost that naiveté here as well."

Remarkably, the news of plummeting investment in China did not cause a major panic in the money markets, according to Mevissen, because the downward trend has been apparent for some time. "We are moving toward an increasingly fragmented global economy. Not for value-added goods, but certainly for high-value technology: chips, batteries, cars, artificial intelligence." https://nos.nl/artikel/2509575-buite...in-dertig-jaar

[em2nought]

I watched a video of Shev & Dev visiting Taiwan, and now I find myself wanting to visit just to eat one of those hotdogs they're serving up in Taipei.

[Jimbuna]

China coast guard caused 'panic' by boarding tourist boat, says Taiwan

Taiwan has accused China's coast guard of triggering "panic", after six Chinese officials briefly boarded a Taiwanese tourist boat.

They checked the ship's route plan, certificate and crew licenses, and left half an hour later.

It comes less than a week after a Chinese fishing boat was pursued by Taiwan's coast guard in the same area. The boat later capsized, killing two.

Beijing later said it would step up patrols in the Kinmen archipelago.

Kinmen lies just 3km(1.86 mi) away from China's south-eastern coast, placing it on the frontline of tensions between China and Taiwan.

China sees self-ruled Taiwan as a breakaway province that will eventually, be part of the country, and has not ruled out the use of force to achieve this. But Taiwan sees itself as distinct from the Chinese mainland.

"We think it has harmed our people's feelings and triggered people's panic. That was also not in line with the interest of the people across the strait," Kuan Bi-ling, head of Taiwan's Ocean Affairs Council, said of the incident, which happened late afternoon on Monday.

The sightseeing vessel was carrying 11 crew members and 23 passengers, some of whom said they were nervous and worried they "would not be able to return to Taiwan".

"I was quite shocked and very anxious," said a female passenger in a video posted on China Times.

Ms Kuan said it was common for Chinese and Taiwanese tourist boats to enter the other side's waters by accident, adding that: "Boats like these are not illegal at all."

The military will not "actively intervene" in the incident to avoid escalating tensions, Taiwan's Defence Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng told reporters in parliament on Tuesday.

"Let's handle the matter peacefully," he said.

Last week, two Chinese fishermen drowned while being chased by the Taiwanese coastguard off Kinmen.

Taipei said the fishing boat trespassed into Taiwanese waters and the four fishermen on board resisted an inspection. Their boat capsized when authorities gave chase.

Chinese state media said the families of the two survivors had arrived on Kinmen on Tuesday to bring them home.

Beijing "strongly condemned" the incident, saying it "seriously hurt the feelings of compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait".
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-68345292

[Jimbuna]

WARNING:LONG READ

China is stoking a new Cold War with the West

Pick any terrorist group, rogue regime, or horrific conflict in the world today and you’ll likely find that China is behind it.

Take Hamas for example.

The bodies of its 1,400 Israeli and 30 American victims were not even cold before China’s state media began spewing out incendiary headlines claiming that Israel, with U.S. encouragement, was carrying out indiscriminate attacks on Gaza civilians — rather than the other way around.

China’s social media was filled with the vilest anti-Semitic comments from semi-official sources. The many atrocities committed by Hamas terrorists, including removing—and beheading—an unborn baby from the body of a dead Israeli mother, went unmentioned.

Su Lin, a prominent Chinese influencer, claimed after the brutal attack that “Hamas is still too gentle. Israel is a Jewish version of Nazi and militarism.”

Such posts would be instantly removed if they contradicted the thinking of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP). But they are encouraged as Beijing tries to undermine Israel — along with much of the rest of the world.

China’s propaganda onslaught has been so vicious that Jerusalem’s ambassador told Beijing earlier this week to stop supporting Hamas terrorism and stop acting with hostility towards the Jewish state.

But Hamas receives far more than just marketing and moral support from Beijing.

Does anyone believe that the terrorist group was able to plan such a complex operation against Israel, breach its highly sophisticated defensive wall, and disable its communications system, all on its own?

And how could an attack that, according to Hamas’ leaders, was more than two years in the making not have been detected by Israeli intelligence early on?

The answers may yet be determined, but part of the reason may be that the terrorist group reportedly switched over to Chinese-made Huawei phones and electronic devices this time around.

The Israelis may have been flummoxed by the new devices, but Chinese intelligence was surely listening in. Back-door access by Beijing is a feature, not a bug, of electronic devices manufactured in China.

Beyond mere hardware, China likely had a hand in the large-scale cyber attacks that reduced Israel’s response time to the incursion from Gaza.

“The Iranians are clever, but that level of cyberattacks had to have support from abroad,” says Tel Aviv-based intelligence analyst David Wurmser.

He went on to suggest that Iran’s efforts were reinforced by China and North Korea.

Hamas also brought some very advanced weaponry to Israel from Gaza, such as thermobaric rocket-propelled grenades, or RPGs.

These weapons were manufactured in Iran or North Korea, notes Wurmser, but the state-of-the-art technology likely came from China.

Some in Hamas even have personal ties to China, such as Mohammed Deif, the terrorist leader reportedly responsible for the planning of the massacre.

Chinese dissident journalist Lu De and others report that the PLO sent Deif to China in 1996, where the CCP enrolled him in the PLA’s Ordnance Engineering College in Shijiazhuang, China.

There he learned the skills he would later use to kill Israelis.

The CCP even supplied him with a Chinese Muslim wife, whom Lu suggests is a conduit for communications with Beijing.

Iran’s Islamist regime has been calling for the destruction of Israel for decades, and there is little doubt—outside the Biden administration–that it helped execute the Hamas attack.

But behind Iran stands a far more formidable foe of Israel and the United States.

Indeed, from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to Hamas’ massacre in Israel to Beijing’s support of the brutal military junta in Myanmar, China is aggressively cultivating a new Cold War pitting the CCP — along with its surrogates and proxies — against the West.

Frank Gaffney, the head of the D.C.-based Center for Security Policy, believes that “The Chinese Communist Party was consulted about and quite possibly actually greenlighted the murderous Russian and jihadist invasions that now constitute two fronts in what may be heading the world into a larger conflict.”

Gaffney points to the peculiar pattern of visits to Beijing that links the two most dangerous conflicts now convulsing the planet.

Prior to invading Ukraine in late February 2022, Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin traveled to Beijing to seek Xi Jinping’s support.

A half-dozen agreements were signed and the two entered into a quasi-military alliance.

This time as well, in the months leading up to last week’s terrorist attack, top Palestinian and Iranian leaders made pilgrimages to Beijing to consult with CCP leaders.

Even Syria’s Bashar Assad joined the parade, signing a “strategic partnership” agreement with Xi on September 22nd.

In what is perhaps a sign of what is to come in the Golan Heights, Assad left his children behind in China when he flew back to Damascus.

Oh, and let’s not forget that Putin was back in Beijing this week as Israel and Gaza rage.

In the broadest sense, the attack on Israel — along with the ongoing conflagration in Ukraine and the increasing aggressiveness of North Korea, Pakistan, and Serbia towards their neighbors — was enabled by this unholy alliance between Iran, Russia, and China.

But this is not a relationship of equals.

Rather, it is a compact in which China, with its deep pockets and technological sophistication, is the driving force.

While Iran and Russia are jockeying for dominance in their backyards, China has truly global ambitions and is using the other two in this quest.

The attack on Israel—by a group intent upon its total destruction–is clearly a proxy war by China on one of America’s closest allies.

Just as Hamas and Hezbollah are extensions of Iran, so Iran itself is in many ways a proxy for China.

As former Deputy Undersecretary for Defense Stephen Bryen notes, China “supplies Iran with all the stuff it needs to make all the missiles in the world.” So even when Hamas terrorists are trained in Iran, China is the source of their weaponry.

China is following the same playbook in the Middle East that it did in Russia: Secretly encourage an attack on a U.S. ally or potential ally — and promise to aid the aggressor behind the scenes.

Then, when the attack happens, loudly call for a negotiated settlement–without mentioning that it was your partner who committed the barbarous acts in the first place.

Case in point: As Israel continues to dismantle Hamas, Beijing now claims that it wants “to help cool down the escalating Palestine-Israel conflict” that it helped stoke. In fact, it is doing the opposite. China’s top diplomat Wang Yi spends his days criticizing Israel’s response to the worst terrorist attack in its history.

In a recent speech, Wang claimed “The survival of the Israelis has been guaranteed, but who cares about the survival of the Palestinians?”

Iran supported Hamas knowing that it intended to provoke a complete Middle Eastern showdown.

To judge from its incendiary rhetoric, it hopes that Israel will level Gaza and that other Muslim nations will then unite in an all-out war against Israel.

But why would China, which has no particular animus against Jews, empower Iran and Hamas?

Clearly, because it hopes the U.S. would be drawn into such a conflict and become, yet again, bogged down in the Middle East like it was for decades in Iraq.

China, by its own account, has long been in this new Cold War with the United States.

It was Deng Xiaoping who, watching the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, observed to his CCP comrades that America had won the first Cold War.

But there was now a new Cold War, he went on to say, this time between America and China, which China intended to win.

But both Washington and Wall Street ignored his words.

Instead, they’ve spent the past 30 years trying to bribe China into becoming a responsible member of the U.S.-led world order.

Wall Street financed China’s rise.

Fortune 500 companies transferred their cutting-edge technology to Beijing—or had it stolen.

Congress voted China into the World Trade Organization, and cheap “Made in China” products flooded our nation.

We have enabled the rise of the country that, most Americans finally understand, is engaged in a Cold War against us.

The attacks from the CCP take many different forms, from seeding viruses and spreading fentanyl at home, to using rogue regimes and terrorist groups as proxies abroad.

There is an arsonist on the loose in the world, lighting the fires of conflict wherever it can.

As America disperses its forces and depletes its munitions in response, China calculates that its chances of one day achieving its ultimate goal — the successful retaking of Taiwan — will only increase.

Xi Jinping’s idol, the late Chairman Mao, once remarked: “Great chaos is needed to achieve great order in the world.”

With Russia grinding away at Ukraine, and the Middle East in flames, the “great chaos” is well underway.

The “great order” that the CCP leader dreams of will eventually begin with that Taiwan conquest, but it will not end until a new global order under Chinese hegemony is created—or until the CCP is defeated.
https://www.pop.org/china-is-stoking...0aAsefEALw_wcB

[Jimbuna]

China has raided seven American businesses in Beijing and arrested employees on suspicion of espionage, ambassador Nicholas Burns reveals

The Chinese government has raided up to seven US companies operating there on suspicion of espionage in the past year, America's ambassador to Beijing has revealed.

US ambassador Nicholas Burns revealed the figure in an interview with 60 Minutes that aired on Sunday, highlighting a troubling trend for Americans who want to do business in China.

'On the one hand, they say, "We're open for business. We want American, Japanese businesses here." But on the other hand, they've raided six or seven American businesses since last March,' said Burns.
'They've gone into American companies and shut them down and made accusations we believe are very much unwarranted,' he added.

Although several raids on US firms in China had been previously reported, the total cited by Burns is higher than was publicly known.

China last year launched a crackdown on US consultancy and due diligence firms, a move business lobbies have said unnerved foreign investors in the world's second-largest economy.

In March, the Beijing office of US consultancy Mintz Group was raided and five Chinese members of staff were detained.

Mintz confirmed the detention of its employees and the closure of its China business in a statement following the raid and was later fined the equivalent of $1.5 million by authorities in Beijing.

Chinse police also descended on US management consultancy Bain & Co's Shanghai office in April.

Bain confirmed the raid on its Shanghai office without giving more details in a statement at the time.

Then in May, China's state TV aired a program showing a raid of consultancy Capvision Partners' offices, flouting the crackdown for the world to see.

Capvision said in a statement soon after the broadcast that it would abide by national security rules, but declined to comment further.

China expanded its counter-espionage law in July, much to the alarm of the United States, with wide-ranging updates including banning the transfer of any information related to national security and broadening the definition of spying.

'It's written in such a general way that it could be that American business people could be accused of espionage for engaging in practices that are perfectly legal and acceptable everywhere else in the world,' Burns said of the new counter-espionage law.

He said that standard 'due diligence' on a company's finances, which is used to guide decisions on an investment or a joint venture, could be considered spying under the new law.

'I think they want to control data about the Chinese people, about Chinese companies,' said Burns. 'I think that is at the heart of the problem with those American companies operating in that sphere.'

Last year, China's Ministry of State Security also called on its citizens to join counter-espionage work, creating tip lines for individuals to report suspicious activity and promising to commend and reward them.

The ministry claimed it uncovered two citizens spying for the US Central Intelligence Agency, detailing how the accused were recruited and placing them under investigation.

The US National Counterintelligence and Security Center said in June that China viewed outbound flow of data as a national security risk, and that the new and existing laws could compel companies' locally employed Chinese nationals to assist in Chinese intelligence efforts.

The crackdown on purported spying has badly dented foreign investment in China, which the country sorely needs as its economy continues to lag following years of disruptions from harsh pandemic lockdowns.

Last year, China's foreign direct investment plunged 82 percent to $33 billion on a net basis in 2023, according to the country's State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

It marked the lowest level of investment in China by foreign companies in 30 years, and outflows exceeded inflows by $17.5 billion in the fourth quarter, marking the first net outflow on record.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world...76720b3b&ei=21

[Jimbuna]

China ignores US warnings and sends ships into Taiwan's restricted waters

China has ignored warnings from the United States and sent a group of ships into Taiwan's restricted water space, as tensions in the region threaten to boil over.

The ships reportedly breached the water borders just off Taiwan's frontline Kinmen islands.

Last week, the US State Department urged Beijing to back off as it warned that China's increasingly hostile attitude towards Taiwan heightened the risk of "miscalculation" - and could lead to direct confrontation.

The warning came after six China Coast Guard officers boarded a Taiwanese tourist boat and inspected passengers's documents for half an hour. The holidaying groups later told local media they had feared for their lives.

China had vowed to increase maritime law enforcement around Taiwan's Kinmen islands after two Chinese fishermen died when their speedboat capsised while being chased by Taiwanese authorities.

However, the US State Department told Newsweek: "We continue to urge restraint and no unilateral change to the status quo, which has preserved peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and throughout the region for decades.

"We urge the PRC to engage in meaningful dialogue with Taiwan to reduce the risk of miscalculation."

However, Xi Jinping's China appears to ignored America's pleas. A Taiwan minister told reporters today (Tuesday, February 27) that at least five Chinese coast guard ships had entered prohibited or restricted waters around Taiwan yesterday.

Taiwan Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng told parliament he hoped the situation would be "smoothly handled" so it did not escalate. "We don't want to see any combat conditions occur," he added.

Get all the latest news, entertainment, sport and lifestyle updates from our dedicated American team.

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Kuan Bi-ling, head of Taiwan's Ocean Affairs Council, told reporters the Chinese boats left the area shortly after Taiwan's coast guard told them to leave.

"The political significance is high, which is a form of a declaration of sovereignty," she said. China is yet to comment on the incident, reports ABC News.

Earlier this month, China warned the US to expect a "strong and resolute" response after Congress green-lit the sale of $75 million worth of military equipment to Taiwan.

Beijing claimed the move undermined its relationship with the United States and "violates" the main tenets of the One China policy long agreed between the two nations.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world...interstitial=2

[Reece]

Get all the latest news, entertainment, sport and lifestyle updates from our dedicated American team.

Follow Daily Express US on Facebook and Twitter @ExpressUSNews

Good to know!

[em2nought]

So glad our government is so well respected around the world. It will keep us from getting into trouble with possible enemies who might view us as really really weak.

Even Italy thinks we're stupid. https://ijr.com/italian-tv-show-reportedly-mocks-biden/

[Jimbuna]

US warned of strategic loss of Pacific Island nations to China in fresh funding dispute

The US has been warned that it could lose incredibly important strategic Pacific Islands to China due to disputes over blocked funding.

Palau, the Marshall Islands, and the Federated States of Micronesia are currently "under pressure" and may be forced to turn to China for financial help.

If this goes through, US defence officials have warned that the country could lose these nations to China. Instead, they are pushing to provide the funding themselves.

The leaders of the islands have claimed that they need £2.3 billion, currently held up in Congress, or they may have no other choice but to ask China for the money.

Coincidentally, China is trying to shift the power dynamics of the region in its favour, most notably due to the issue of Taiwan and who lays claim to it.

If the money isn't handed over soon and the islands turn to China, it could result in Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia recognising Taiwan as under the ownership of China.

The three leaders issued a joint letter in February warning of the "uncertainty" created by the delay in receiving the money, resulting in "undesirable opportunities for economic exploitation by competitive political actors active in the Pacific".

The islands are involved in treaties called Compacts of Free Association (Cofa) which allows the Pentagon to have virtually unrestricted military access in exchange for guaranteed security and other benefits.

Cofa states allow the US to remain a Pacific power as they afford the country access to an area of the region larger than the continental US, providing a critical defence mechanism against potential Chinese advances.

Congress is currently holding up a vast amount of money for oversees conflicts such as the Russia-Ukraine war and Israel's war on Palestine; this £2 billion is yet another example.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world...f4764aea&ei=43

[Jimbuna]

China slams foreign criticism of upcoming Hong Kong's Article 23 national security law

HONG KONG (Reuters) - China on Thursday criticised British Foreign Secretary David Cameron and other foreign politicians for "smearing" an upcoming Hong Kong security law, as local authorities said feedback on the law had been largely positive.

The law, known as Article 23, will target crimes including treason, theft of state secrets, espionage, sabotage, sedition and "external interference", including from foreign governments.

A public consultation period on the proposed legislation ended this week, with the city's legislature, dominated by pro-Beijing lawmakers, expected to soon approve the draft laws.

The Hong Kong Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement on Thursday "to express their strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition" to British Foreign Secretary Cameron and other politicians' making "irresponsible remarks" on the legislation of Article 23.

The ministry said they were "maliciously smearing and attacking Hong Kong's human rights, freedoms and rule of law".

The statement followed remarks from Cameron on Wednesday that Britain had raised its concerns with the Hong Kong authorities.

"Vague references to ‘external forces’ and the new offence of ‘external interference’ threaten the legitimate and lawful diplomatic and consular activity as protected in the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations", Cameron said.

The U.S. State Department also said in a statement on Wednesday that it was closely monitoring the legislation and its implications for U.S. citizens, investments, and companies operating in Hong Kong.

"We are particularly concerned by Hong Kong authorities’ proposal to adopt broad and vague definitions of 'state secrets' and 'external interference' that could be used to eliminate dissent through the fear of arrest and detention," department spokesperson Matthew Miller said. "We are also concerned that Hong Kong authorities will apply Article 23 extraterritorially in their ongoing campaign of transnational repression to intimidate and restrict the free speech of U.S. citizens and residents."

Hong Kong's Security Bureau on Thursday said 13,147 submissions had been received during the consultation, amid criticism that the law would further erode freedoms in the financial hub.

Among them, 12,969 (98.64%) of the submissions "show support and make positive comments" while 93 (0.71%) objected, with more than 10 were from "overseas anti-China organisations or abscondees".

"The aforementioned result has indicated that the legislative proposals have gained majority support from the public," the Security Bureau said.

This week, Chinese lawmakers also expanded Beijing's state secrets law for the first time since 2010, widening the scope of restricted sensitive information to "work secrets".

Beijing imposed a national security law in 2020 that punishes acts, including subversion and collusion with foreign forces, with up to life imprisonment, after mass pro-democracy protests in the financial hub.

According to the Security Bureau, more than 290 people have been arrested for alleged national security offences. Among them, 174 persons and five companies were charged, including media tycoon and pro-democracy advocate Jimmy Lai.
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/ar...l-security-law

[Jimbuna]

China Discovers World's Largest Oil Deposit

A crucial discovery for China, aiming to reduce its energy dependence, has come to light with the Chinese oil company China National Offshore Oil Corporation, better known as CNOOC, reportedly uncovering the world's largest oil deposit in the Bohai Sea. This is reported by Naftemporiki.

The Bozhong 26-6 oil field, discovered in 2022, has now confirmed record levels of hydrocarbon reserves following a series of drilling operations, potentially exceeding 1.3 billion barrels (over 200 million cubic meters).

The gigantic deposit was found in metamorphic rocks in the Bohai Sea, a small inland sea located at the northern tip of the East China Sea and northwest of the Yellow Sea, on the northeastern coast of China.
Spanish geologist Jorge Navarro mentions that the giant deposit was found in an area known as "buried hills".

Oil and gas are typically stored in sedimentary rocks, like sandstones, which normally do not undergo significant alterations or major losses in porosity and permeability due to burial and compression. However, some of these sedimentary rocks, if buried under high temperatures and pressures, undergo a series of physicochemical processes that destroy almost all their porosity and permeability. If these metamorphosed rocks are brought back to the surface by tectonic forces, their petrophysical properties improve. In such a way that, if buried again, they are capable of hosting hydrocarbons.

An example of metamorphosed rocks is shale, from which shale oil is extracted in the USA. Shale oil is produced within the shale when subjected to high temperatures that can be used as fuel known as shale oil.

This discovery is of vital importance for a country like China, which seeks to reduce its energy dependence and maintain a huge current account surplus. China is the world's largest importer of many raw materials, including oil.

China achieved a new record in oil and natural gas production at the end of last year. The national crude oil production averaged 4.16 million barrels per day, according to data from the Chinese government. In this way, the "Asian giant" continues to be the sixth-largest producer of crude oil in the world, approaching Iraq, which is the fifth-largest oil producer in the world, with 4.3 million barrels per day.

China's crude oil production increased to 208 million metric tons in 2023, representing a 1.6% increase compared to the production levels of 2022.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world...f5afd0d1&ei=29

[Dargo]

[em2nought]

Originally Posted by Jimbuna

China Discovers World's Largest Oil Deposit

Not good at all. They have all the fuel they need for whatever war or wars they might want to engage in. On the plus side, all they really need to do is wait us out until we've totally destroyed ourselves from within.