Thanks mainly to China finally emerging from its Covid-19 lockdowns The dynamics around energy markets are changing fast. China, the world’s largest crude importer, is finally beginning to open up, signalling that it has passed the COVID-19 peak and is now ready for business as usual. As a consequence, Beijing is reportedly on a crude…
That doesn’t mean the net-zero zealots will toss in the towel, of course Last year my year-end column, Fossil-fuel follies, hypocrisy and ignorance plague us all, focused on the bizarre impacts of the Great March Greenward by net-zero zealots intent on replacing the 84 per cent of global energy supplied by fossil fuels with electricity…
But at least in the short term, Moscow may be able to ride off the challenge The U.S.-led western sanctions on Russian energy exports are now in force and beginning to have an impact. There are now tentative signs that the US$60 per barrel cap on crude exports from Russia is leading major oil tanker…
U.S. commitment to Saudi security is waning, opening the doors to China Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Riyadh last week provided a sharp contrast to the one that U.S. President Joe Biden undertook to Saudi Arabia last July. Pomp, show, warmth and a consensus of views on geopolitical issues were very visible during the…
While the government deserves applause, there are some gaps in the plan Several years in the making, Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy has finally been released. It’s a welcome fresh take on a time-worn tradition of trying to engage more substantially across the Pacific. In one of many previous attempts, the Asia-Pacific Foundation was created in 1985…
Chinese people risking beatings and jail to protest continued lockdowns Anti-lockdown protests are now taking place across China – the Chinese equivalent of our Truckers’ Convoy. The protests are a reaction to the brutal policies that literally lock people in their apartments when even one infection is detected. As in Canada, when truckers became convinced…
Isolating China could lead to a series of unintended consequences Canadian Global Affairs Minister Melanie Joly delivered a speech in Toronto today foreshadowing Canada’s long-awaited Indo-Pacific Strategy, promised within a month. She highlighted the geopolitical risks of doing business with China and the desire to strengthen ties with India and South-East Asia. The hardline China…
The Biden administration has clearly signalled it wants a new Cold War in Asia Under pressure from big business, the Trudeau government has requested to join a U.S.-led China containment pact called the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF). The move will significantly affect economic development, peace, and Canada’s foreign policy. The IPEF is the Biden administration’s…
Worshipping at the net-zero altar has led to two dictators controlling both energy security and the supply of manufactured goods
Mark Twain famously said that “Truth is stranger than fiction.” Seldom have those words been more clearly illustrated than by the West’s attempt to rid the world of fossil fuels. In a supreme irony, the location of the first gathering aimed at that goal took place in the country now suffering the worst consequences of…
We mustn't let fear of China determine our relationship with Taiwan
According to recent news reports, a delegation of eight Canadian MPs and senators from the Canada-Taiwan Friendship Group and a parliamentary trade committee are planning to visit Taiwan as early as October. Although such visits are not unusual, this time around the announcement has attracted more attention than usual. This is largely due to China’s…