The Australian: Treasurer slams gate on Chinese raids
This article asks the most basic of questions, “The question here is, is it in Australia’s national interest for a buyer of our resources to control our resource-producing companies?”
That’s not a bad question to ask, and it’s one that is going to shape the debate on how much resources China can buy around the world. It is one thing to want to break up the oligopoly on iron ore to help the little guy ship a bit of ore. But if it is the customers doing the breaking by owning mines and then supplying themselves, that is very scary.
I am not being tongue-in-cheek. As China becomes a bigger consumer, and as its ability to invest in more companies increases, more and more countries are going to face the question of how China’s new role in the world affects them. As for Australia, it has to figure out what is in its best interest, and it is going to have to figure that out quickly.
That being said, today is a day of national pride here in the United States, so Happy 4th of July.
Benjamin
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