Most Americans are listening closely to what Donald Trump has to say. Like him or not, he’s got their attention.
One issue he constantly addresses that few would argue about is our relationship with China. I’ve personally characterized it for years in the simplest of terms. “We give them money. They give us ‘stuff’.” It’s of course more complex than that, but as Mr. Trump notes, they always seem to have the upper hand.
Now there is word that one of the many companies owned by the Chinese government, the Chinese National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC), is being taken to court over monies owed to a privately owned company with a large number of Western investors. That company, Primeline, is owed approximately $57.5 million after CNOOC failed to meet certain well-defined contractual obligations.
Besides monies owed Primeline, an article in a Hong Kong newspaper now states that CNOOC runs the risk of defaulting on loans from a number of lenders. A Chinese government owned company defaulting on loans? There’s something Mr. Trump could sink his teeth into. A harbinger of things to come? One hopes not.
CNOOC should jog some memories in Washington. In 2005, CNOOC attempted to buy California-based Unocol Corporation for $18.5 billion. While the Bush Administration idly stood by, a coalition of Congressional Democrats and Republicans vigorously opposed the deal. As they noted, there was nothing ‘free market’ about it. Allowing the Chinese to purchase U.S. companies while we couldn’t purchase theirs was more than imbalanced. Moreover, the Chinese government itself was putting up $13 billion of the purchase price.
The notion of the Chinese government owning a major U.S. energy firm met enough resistance that CNOOC ultimately withdrew their bid and Unocol was purchased by Chevron.
Since that time China has aggressively tried to expand its reach into both the East China and South China Seas. While much of that expansion was originally energy related, the military component has fallen in behind. The direct result has been confrontation and controversies with Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, and the Philippines. And ultimately, in one fashion or another, those issues fall at the feet of the U.S.
Although unlikely that any of the current territorial disputes would reach a boiling point in the immediate future, financial and economic issues regarding China might be another matter particularly considering the debt owed China by the U.S. The Chinese government through CNOOC, one of its state-owned enterprises, defaulting on monies owed should cause concern and raise alarms to China-watchers worldwide.
Bill Cowan s a retired USMC Lieutenant Colonel, accomplished public speaker on matters of national security and terrorism, and a contributor for the Fox News Channel.