The rise of a great power: starting with military industry

Chapter 773 Saudi Arabia also has the heart to industrialize

Prince Sultan nodded.

Of course, he knew the situation in Iraq.

Even with the most optimistic estimates, it will take Iraq about twenty years to rebuild.

At least during these twenty years of reconstruction, Iraq was unable to launch external wars.

Iraq's army originally had as many as 120 million troops. Although it now has nearly one million troops, its navy and air force can be said to have been completely wiped out, and its army suffered heavy losses, with a large amount of weapons and equipment lost.

Many of Iraq's arsenals were destroyed.

It is not an easy task to replenish the army's equipment, rebuild the navy and air force, and build an arsenal to replenish the arsenal to the pre-war level. It takes a long time to prepare and costs a lot of money.

It can be said that in the short term, Iraq is not Saudi Arabia's enemy. On the contrary, Iraq needs Saudi Arabia.

"This time Europe and the United States have frozen Iraq's assets. This is also a big warning to us. We need to transfer some of our assets in Europe and the United States to China in the future." King Fahd said in a deep voice, "We should also be careful when buying U.S. debt. Who knows if the Americans can afford it? If they can't, they might cheat."

In the past, much of the money Saudi Arabia earned was used to buy U.S. bonds or invest in American companies.

But now it seems that doing so is actually very dangerous.

Now that European and American countries are able to freeze a large amount of Iraq’s assets, can they not freeze Saudi Arabia’s assets in the future?
Saudi Arabia has far more assets in Europe and the United States than Iraq.

King Fahd has realised that his eggs need to be placed in multiple baskets.

"Your Majesty is wise. Our asset investment in China is growing very fast, unlike in Europe and the United States, where there is always negative growth." Prince Sultan praised, "China is developing very fast now. They are very short of funds. We often only need to pay a small amount of money to obtain a large number of shares."

Saudi Arabia actually has quite a few assets in China, for example in Hong Kong and in the mainland.

But compared with Saudi Arabia’s assets in Europe and the United States, it is not worth mentioning.

"China's national strength is improving rapidly. It has become a force that the world cannot ignore. In addition, China's oil imports are growing very fast. This is also an important customer market for us. We cannot rely on the United States and Europe for the market!" King Fahd said, "We suffered a great loss in this regard this time. We must learn a lesson."

Why did international oil prices fall instead of rise after Iraq was unable to export oil?

It’s because the Americans are using this as a condition to force oil-producing countries such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

If the US does not agree to the American conditions, the Americans will not withdraw from the Gulf, and even threaten to freeze their assets in Europe and the United States to compensate the Americans and Europeans for their losses in the Gulf War.

Out of necessity, and in order to spend money to avoid disaster, countries such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait had no choice but to accept it.

However, when Saudi Arabia and other countries increased their oil supply, the Soviet Union was unhappy and criticized OPEC a lot during this period.

OPEC, or the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, is an international organization established in 1960 by oil-producing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America to coordinate the oil policies of member countries and oppose the exploitation and control of Western oil monopoly capital. Its purpose is to coordinate and unify the oil policies of member countries and safeguard their respective and common interests.

Logically speaking, after the Gulf War, as Iraq's oil fields were hit and oil exports were impossible, Iraq alone exported at least 300 million barrels less oil per day. Due to the lack of oil supply in the market, oil prices should have remained at a relatively high level. However, Saudi Arabia and other countries had no choice but to agree to the deal under pressure from the United States.

Prince Sultan said: "We should increase investment in China. If possible, we can take this opportunity to develop our oil industry and process more oil instead of just exporting crude oil!"

Although petroleum is mainly used as fuel and gasoline, it is also the raw material for many chemical industrial products, such as solvents, fertilizers, pesticides and plastics.

Whether it is processing oil into finished oil products for export or developing the chemical industry, it can create more jobs and earn more profits for Saudi Arabia.

The industrial base of countries like Saudi Arabia in the entire Middle East is actually very weak, far from being called an industrial country. They have to buy all the weapons and ammunition they need.

Even a country like Iraq, which was once the world's third largest military power, has a very weak military industry, and weapons, equipment and ammunition are mostly purchased.

Even in terms of maintenance, Iraq alone is not capable of doing it.

"Europe and the United States do not want us to achieve industrialization, but there is hope in China!" King Fahd nodded.

He had been to China and had some understanding of China.

Although China still has many shortcomings and is relatively weaker than the Soviet Union and the United States, it has initially achieved industrialization and is now making great strides on the road to industrialization. It is estimated that it will not take many years for it to become a modern industrialized country.

Even though Fahd is old, he is not ignorant of the value of China's weapons and equipment.

Otherwise, Saudi Arabia would not import so much weapons, equipment and ammunition.

Although Saudi Arabia is somewhat flat, it does not mean that Saudi Arabia does not have an industrial heart.

Because Saudi Arabia also knows that oil can only make Saudi Arabia rich but cannot make Saudi Arabia strong. Only industrialization can make Saudi Arabia strong.

"Find a time to visit China again and discuss the number of students we send to study in China and increase the number of students going to study in China!" King Fahd said, "We Arabs and Chinese have dealt with each other thousands of years ago. In the future, we must also learn how to deal with them and strengthen our exchanges."

There was a wise look in King Fahd's eyes.

The Arabs have ruled the vast land of the Middle East for more than a thousand years. At that time, they established the powerful Arab Empire, whose territory stretched from the Indus River Basin and the Pamir Plateau in the east, bordering the Tang Dynasty of China, to the Atlantic Ocean in the west, to the Sultanate of Mozambique in the south and to the Caucasus Mountains in the north, forming a great empire spanning three continents of Asia, Africa and Europe, with a territory of 1340 million square kilometers.

Arab civilization once stood at the top of the world.

It was only when the Age of Discovery began in the West that Arab civilization gradually fell behind Western Christian civilization, and later it was gradually reduced to a colony.

But now, Arab civilization is rising again. With the help of oil, if the Arab world can be integrated, it will form a civilization as powerful as the Arab Empire.

The Chinese civilization, which also flourished with the Arab civilization, is now on the right track. Strengthening exchanges between the two sides is very important for the future of Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia, as a weak country with abundant oil resources, naturally has its own survival wisdom.

That is the sense of historical scrutiny!
(End of this chapter)