China Throws Down Gauntlet to USA Inc

If you want to understand the global economy and feel the pulse of capitalism in the early 21st century, look no further than the $19 billion bid by the China National Oil Operating Company – Cnooc – for Unocal of California. Add a large measure of geopolitical tension, and you have probably the single most important corporate event of the young millennium.

The offer – which Cnooc’s president Fu Chengyu and his team have been considering ever since rival US oil giant Chevron agreed a takeover of Unocal for $16.5 billion – encapsulates the growing business confidence of China, the land of totalitarian capitalism. Its dynamic economy needs raw materials if it is to continue the eye-watering growth rates of the past few years. Chinese demand has already helped push up global commodity prices, including oil. Now Beijing wants to own the means of production, too. A middle-ranking American oil company will do nicely.
The Observer