China is attracting "global attention" for its rapid stockpiling of crucial materials, said Newsweek. Among them are stocks of crude oil and natural gas, valuable manufacturing metals like copper, iron ore and cobalt, and in particular precious metals like gold.
Considering China's economic issues, the stockpiling "does not reflect growing consumption", said The Economist. It raises the question of whether Beijing is shoring up reserves in a "defensive measure", or one hinting at future aggression.
What did the commentators say? China's actions, which have included asking its state oil companies to add "nearly 60 million barrels" of crude oil to its reserves and the state-owned agricultural stockpiler Sinograin to increase its grain imports, have "blared red" for the US as it amasses "key resources", said Channel News Asia.
The most alarming reason why countries tend to build up reserves of valuable materials is the prospect of war. Some analysts are speculating that President Xi Jinping is planning an invasion of Taiwan, which it claims as its territory, said Newsweek. Though there is division among US officials as to "the reality of this threat", China's stockpiling is "well beyond limits" of what is "considered normal during peacetime", said The Diplomat.
Another explanation is that China is preparing for a further economic downturn. It could be about to face even "tougher export restrictions", particularly if Donald Trump reclaims the White House, said The Wall Street Journal. There are further alternative explanations. Beijing could be trying to establish "leverage over competitors" or to gain "control of the market", said The Diplomat. There is also the chance it is operating through "paranoia", or "stoking international fears of war" with propaganda exercises.
What next? Given China's military expansion in recent years and the increasingly heightened tensions with Taiwan, stockpiling exactly what "it would need to survive a protracted conflict" is beginning to sound some alarm bells, said The Economist. There is also evidence that China is taking further measures to distance itself from the US.
While buying huge quantities of gold earlier this year, China has also been "selling down its holdings of US government debt" to "protect it against dollar sanctions" if it comes into a conflict with the West, said The Telegraph. |