China. The country is growing to be bigger, better and more globally competitive, and now so are her highways, byways and side roads. The streets are being filled more and more with cars that are using more and more oil. This increase in the use of gasoline is not only affecting prices and production, but is also suggesting a growing rift in the relatively good relations between China and the United States.

How China has Affected Gasoline Prices

The American International Automobile Dealers Association claims that China is the cause for the recent hikes in oil prices. In an article published on June 13th 2005, the organization claims “the Chinese dream looks a lot like the American dream. And as they buy ever more oil to keep their tanks full, prices around the world rise.” China is growing quickly and has recently overtaken Japan as the second largest oil importing country in the world. Experts suggest that the economy in China is booming so grossly that the government is attempting a growth slowdown.

Global economists predict that the United States and China could well be competing for the “same barrels of oil” in the Middle East within the next twenty or thirty years. But why is China using so much oil? Just as Americans love their SUVs, the Chinese are also beginning to love the feel of rubber on the roads. Each day more cars enter China’s highways and the government is responding with more highway construction.

What Growing Oil Demands Mean for the United States and China

Global economists claim that the growing demand for oil in China poses potentially serious implications for the relationship between China and the United States. Both nations want access the oil of the Middle East. Experts argue that from China’s perspective, it would be best to maintain a good relationship in order to improve the benefits that both nations can share. Still, there are political indications that the Chinese government feels that the United States is trying to dominate the Middle East and its strategic oil wells.