China is the reason we don’t have 5-6 dollar gas. They literally cut their imports to prevent economic disaster. If they begin buying at regular levels we would be the ones hurting more.

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ericmay 2 hours ago | parent | next [-]

No that's not the only reason. High oil prices affect their economy quite a bit, and much of their imports form what I understand come from the Middle East.

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jrajav 2 hours ago | parent [-]

High oil prices affect them less than any other country in the world. They have the largest oil stockpiles by far, eclipsing even the US, and they have unique access to oil sanctioned by the west.

China is essentially the only actor in the market that is able to weather this conflict in marathon fashion.

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ericmay 2 hours ago | parent | next [-]

The US is the largest producer of oil and natural gas in the world (or #2 or something - besides the point). Your argument that only China can weather these price disruptions doesn't seem to hold water for that reason and because of Chinese actions to use that strategic supply to keep prices lower than they otherwise would be. It's not because it's some random benefit for the world (including the US) it's because their economy like any major industrial power relies on oil and gas (and coal) and keeping prices low to help their export-dependent factories.

They have their own advantages and strategies to deal with these things, but this idea that China just like sits around and "weathers the conflict" unscathed is just incorrect.

	▲	throwaway473825 a few seconds ago \| parent [-]
		China's economy is one of the least dependent on oil and gas. Electricity is mostly coal, renewables and nuclear. Transport is increasingly electric (including trucks). Chemicals are moving from oil to coal. If global oil and gas price rise, Chinese electricity and transport prices are largely unaffected, unlike the rest of the world. Even the US doesn't have that kind of resilience. However, China is a net importer of oil and gas, while the US is a net exporter, so when it comes to trade the US is the main beneficiary, although it mainly benefits one single sector.

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ericd an hour ago | parent | prev [-]

But also, the US makes more oil than it uses. With some nuance around how the refineries are set up vs type of crude produced.

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mitxela an hour ago | parent | prev [-]

China is the only reason you have 5-6 dollar gas and not, say, 30 dollars.