Why all the world feels China's growing pains

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/politics/story.jsp?story=519237

For better or worse, every ripple from this giant economy, which is driven by the fast-expanding needs of 1.3 billion consumers, can now be felt across the world. Without China, even the mighty US could not run its huge trade and budget deficits. China is the world's second largest buyer of US government debt, as it recycles a $124bn trade surplus with the United States. No less significantly, the country's frenetic construction boom is driving up world prices of nearly every commodity, while large-scale foreign investment is powering a flood of exports which is bringing down global prices for manufactured goods.

Officially, China represents less than 4 per cent of the world's economy. But its spectacular rate of industrial production - which grew by 16.3 per cent last year alone - is making its effects felt all over the world. Last year, China accounted for 7 per cent of global oil consumption, 27 per cent of steel, 31 per cent of coal and 40 per cent of cement. And its appetite for raw materials has been growing for years.

Optimists are busy making plans on how to make money by satisfying China's growing demand for timber, iron ore, copper, grain, water, power, fish, meat, cars and everything else. Others fear the environmental consequences of unconstrained growth.

China's growing needs are also creating a boom for its neighbours. Many are now busy investing in giant gas fields or long oil pipelines to satisfy demand. Kazakhstan has said it will start building a 3,000km oil pipeline to China from the Caspian Sea later this year. Moscow will soon declare a decision on a pipeline to carry up to 20 million tons of oil each year from Siberia to China. And most of Angola's oil exports now go to China.

But it, unfortunately, doesn't appear to be that way. China has already entered the race to see which country can deplete the Earth's finite oil reserves the fastest. This ensures that its massive global economic ascent will come screeching to a halt before it has even truly begun.

I had hoped maybe the Chinese would come up with a revolutionary fuel alternative, since America now seems too dumbed down in the age of Bush to do it ourselves.