The rise of a great power: starting with military industry

Chapter 591: Sadness and Joy (Subscription Request)

The United States is furious!

Why has the oil price risen again!
As the world's largest oil consumer and the world's largest oil importer, although the United States ranks second in the world in annual oil production, and even produces more than 1000 million barrels per day, it is still far from meeting its own oil supply. The United States has to import large amounts of oil from all over the world every day.

The rise in oil prices has the greatest impact on the United States because the United States needs to pay the most.

In recent years, the US government has tried every possible means to curb inflation. The US dollar interest rate hike cycle has lasted for nearly ten years, which has drained the US dollars in the hands of Latin American countries and they are still in the deep economic crisis. In addition to raising interest rates, the US government has also issued a large amount of national debt. From Reagan's inauguration to now, the US national debt has snowballed.

By raising interest rates, issuing large amounts of treasury bonds, and overissuing dollars, the United States has transferred the crisis to the whole world and made the whole world pay for it.

Now, before we could even catch our breath, oil prices have gone up again.

Reagan, who has been criticized a lot in recent years, was so angry that he slammed the table and cursed, without caring about his own image at all.

If Reagan was full of vigor and vitality when he first came to power, he has been in a state of disgrace in recent years. He has lost both houses of parliament and has become a lame duck. He has been constrained and unable to accomplish anything.

Countless Americans view him as a worse president than Hoover.

This year is an election year. Given the current situation, the Republicans don't even need to elect the Democrats and can just surrender.

"Old buddy, we need to send warships to escort and ensure the safety of our merchant ships!" Reagan said to his partner Bush.

Bush nodded and said, "Old man, I support you!"

Bush gave up business and entered politics in 1964. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 1966 and served two terms. During the Nixon era, he was first appointed by Nixon as the representative to the United Nations, and then the following year he was appointed as the US ambassador to the United Nations. He served as the chairman of the National Committee of the Republic in 1972 and 1973. In 1974, he was appointed by Ford as the director of the US Liaison Office in Beijing.

Bush also served as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

In 1980, he partnered with Reagan and successfully became the Vice President of the United States. Over the years, Bush has provided great assistance to Reagan in domestic and foreign affairs, and was trusted and respected by Reagan, and was called the "best vice president."

This year, he is competing for the throne of the White House based on his years of accumulation.

But now it is very unfavorable for his election situation, because Reagan did a very bad job in his two terms in those years. Inflation has never been reduced, US debt has snowballed, and the depreciation of the US dollar is obvious to all, and the people can feel it very much.

The American people were dissatisfied with Reagan, so naturally they had no good impression of him.

But in recent years, the Bush family's business has been growing bigger and bigger.

As early as 1951, Bush founded the Bush-Overby Oil Development Company. In 1953, he co-founded the Zapata Oil Company. In 1954, he founded the Zapata Offshore Oil Company.

Although he gave up business to enter politics, it does not mean that his family gave up business. They are still rooted in the business world. The Bush family's industries have spread to oil, banking, military-industrial enterprises and even sports.

The sharp rise in oil prices has hurt the interests of the United States, but it is definitely good news for oil companies.

Just look at the past few years, and you will see that the stock prices of American oil companies have soared and their market capitalizations have hit new highs.

Not only the United States, but Europe is also troubled by this.

Originally, the oil imported by Europe mainly came from the Middle East, North Africa and the Soviet Union.

The United States previously beat Libya severely, and Libya’s oil fields and ports were bombed. Construction has not yet resumed, so there is naturally no question of oil exports.

Because of the high oil prices, they had to import oil from the Soviet Union, because the Soviet Union's oil was close, a lot of it was through oil pipelines, the freight was low, and the overall price was low. Now that the Iran-Iraq war has broken out, prices have risen again, and the supply of oil from the Persian Gulf to Europe is bound to be affected.

Faced with this situation, some European countries had to increase oil imports from the Soviet Union.

And in some aspects, they had to cooperate with the Soviet Union.

For example, in recent years, West Germany’s calls for German reunification have clearly decreased.

No one knows when the Berlin Wall will fall.

At this time, the United States contacted its European allies to go to the Persian Gulf for escort together.

Japan, on the other hand, has both joy and sorrow!
The good news is that the appreciation of the yen gives Japan an advantage in importing oil; the bad news is that the rise in oil prices has affected oil supply, and Japan is also suffering.

Japan, which lacks oil, has to rely on imports.

Therefore, Japan has always attached great importance to oil.

If there was anyone who was very happy, it would be the Soviet Union.

Now, the proportion of revenue generated by oil exports in the Soviet Union's foreign trade has exceeded 70%. When the Soviet Union produces, it can not only meet its own needs and supply its allies, but also sell it to Europe.

Europe is the largest buyer of Soviet oil.

Moreover, because of oil, the two sides are no longer as tense as before, and many issues can be resolved through dialogue.

The Iran-Iraq shipping war broke out, oil prices rose, affecting oil supply. The Soviet Union's oil export trade could also make more money, and the Soviet Union could have more initiative and advantages.

It can be said that the Soviet Union had a relatively good life in those years. The most important factor was that the oil trade could earn huge profits, which made it so that although the Soviet Union seemed chaotic when carrying out internal reforms, it did not get out of control.

Moreover, trade with China was constantly increasing, and China's light industrial products were continuously flowing into the Soviet Union, which prevented the Soviet Union from reaching the point where the situation was out of control.

Now the Soviet Union and the United States are in the same boat and in the same boat, and their lives are not as easy as before.

The Reagan administration was criticized and rated as the worst administration in history, even worse than Hoover.

The current leadership of the Soviet Union is not going to last long. Gorbachev, who reached the highest position at a young age, does not have enough prestige to convince the people. Various bigwigs are fighting for power and profit, which makes the Soviet Union have no energy to focus on the outside world.

Otherwise, given the current situation in the United States, the Soviet Union would have launched wave after wave of attacks on the United States or the Western camp.

In terms of means of struggle, the Soviet Union was not weak at all.

Moreover, the Soviet Union has a very special position in the minds of workers all over the world and its appeal is amazing.

Now the Soviet Union wants to end the Afghan war and withdraw from the battlefield in a dignified manner. The rising oil prices will allow the Soviet Union to have more money to provide pensions and clean up the mess behind. At the same time, the Soviet Union will export oil, take the initiative and advantage, and better realize the experience launch instead of staging a "Saigon moment".

In a good mood, Gorbachev began to prepare for his visit to China, so as to truly normalize the relationship between the Soviet Union and China.

While China was carrying out reform and opening up, Gorbachev also initiated reform and opening up in the Soviet Union with the intention of helping the Soviet Union out of its predicament.

(End of this chapter)