There is no ‘Middle East.’ There’s a Levant America loves and a Gulf China needs

the Persian Gulf accounted for about 6 mbpd of China’s oil imports (54% of China’s oil imports of about 11.1 mbpd) or about 37% of total Chinese oil consumption of about 16.3 mbpd. China accounts for about 90% of Iran’s oil exports. Manifestly, it is China, not the United States, that is hugely dependent on Persian Gulf oil.

For the foreseeable future,continue reading …