Oil issue looms as Chinese prez visits White House
Buying oil from unsavory regimes, thus ensuring their grip on power. Attempting to lock up oil supplies to increase geopolitical influence. Growing heedlessly and unsustainably, polluting the air and water. These are the kinds of behaviors the world can no longer tolerate from … China. Wait, whaaa? Seriously: During Chinese President Hu Jintao’s visit to the White House today, President Bush was expected to lecture him about oil. You see, the U.S. doesn’t appreciate China’s “mercantilist” policy of buying oil from places like Sudan, Burma, and, most significantly, Iran, with no heed for those countries’ geopolitical misbehavior. The U.S. is attempting to build international support for economic sanctions against Iran over its budding nuclear program, and China could potentially stymie those plans. Bush planned to encourage Hu to get on board about Iran, quit buying oil from suspect regimes, and concentrate on energy efficiency. Hu planned to teach Bush the Chinese terms for “pot,” “kettle,” and “black.”
