China is also restricting exports of industrial silicon,
another important ingredient for chip manufacturing, computers,
automobiles among others. China controls 81% of global supply of
silicon.
What China does by restricting is more destructive than a
complete ban, a move often followed by the USA and the West. China does
not want the West to build facilities and supply chains to provide long
term alternatives to China. Building those facilities in the West cost
huge investments and will not kill China's silicon industry, because it
is still a major global supplier and in total control. China on the
other hand can kill off those facilities by manipulating supply and
demand. The West is thus in a dilemma. Invest and build and risk not
being able to compete with China, or continue to face acute shortages in
the short and midium term.
The USA and the West are now
hysterical and crying foul and shouting that this is unfair trade
practices, after being grabbed by the testicles. What hyprocrites are
they themselves? When the USA targeted Huawei, the West and other
poodles followed. When the USA banned exports of high end chips and chip
making equipment to China, the West and other poodles followed as well.
China is doing exactly the same, paying them back in the same
coin, nothing more, nothing less. However, China does not need to coerce
or force other countries to follow them, thus dragging them into
trouble. China alone can strike back like Russia. Gangsters need backups
to appear great in facing opponents.
Two commodities that Russia
targeted so far are only energy and food. Even fertiliser for crops is
in the hands of the Russians. We are now seeing a battle between air
backed toilet papers against commodities, ie oil and food, real stuff
that is needed by every human being on this planet. Who is holding the
upper hand going forward is a no brainer.
Russia's refusal to
renew the grain deal is causing panic among the EU countries. Inflation
is expected to escalate in the coming months, with grain prices rising.
Meanwhile, Russia has promised to ship grains to poor African countries
'free of charge' after not renewing the Black Sea grain deal. This point
about 'free' Russian grain for Africa has never been mentioned on MSM,
and we know what is the reason. It negates the accusation that Russia is
causing hunger in Africa, a point they leveraged on all the time.
Russia knows that most of the grains exported from the Black Sea deal
went to the EU and China, not to the countries that needed them most,
which is Africa. Moreover, why should Russia feed the EU that is out to
destroy it?
China's import of grains from Russia, by the way,
may be huge, but it makes up only a tiny percentage of its needs, about
1% (?) and is thus not in any way detrimental for China. And now the
West is pushing China to influence Russia to go back to the grain deal.
The same argument here is why should China help the EU when it is in
league with the USA to destroy China. In any case, Russian grain, I
believe, can always go by land to China and need not go through the
Black Sea route. What are the rail links being built between China and
Russia for? China's BRI is a long term alternative against the blockade
of the Straits of Malacca and Suez Canal. In fact China is exploring
leasing Gwadar Port (if I am not mistaken), Pakistan to bring Middle
Eastern oil via pipelines across Pakistan and/or Afghanistan to Western
China.
August is coming and soon the EU countries will be facing
another winter once again. The last winter was mild, and enough time was
given to stockpile oil and gas when they knew Russia was going to cut
supplies by end of 2022. This time around, Russia may stop gas supply
completely long before winter sets in. Russia knows how to play the
game, preventing stock piling being a lesson it has learnt the year
before.
Anonymous