> The part often glossed over is that while the U.S. and Russia both have large oil reserves and domestic production capabilities, China has virtually nothing in comparison.

China is 13th of the list with an estimated 25.1 billion barrels of untapped oil reserves.

The U.S. is 9th in the list with 55 billion barrels. Venezuela tops the list with and estimated 303 billion barrels.

China also has a long term strategic policy on resource management. Long term strategic planning is deep within Chinese cultural psyche.

Wondering around certain regions of China you’ll see many capped wells, and when you ask a Chinese official about them, one may be lucky to get the real answer as to why they are capped and not being used.

The answer given was “why use ours now? We use everyone else’s until it’s all gone, and then we use ours”.

China is playing the long game. It’s a slow patient 2000 year old culture that had an odd blip 100 years ago and is now moving back to business as usual. Underestimate China at your peril.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_proven_...