It is not the first time that USA and China meet at the top of their respective Governments; and not the first time that they meet in an informal way, chosen to facilitate a “sincere” discussion and some kind of reciprocal understanding. The meeting just happened could have been an “historical “ meeting, to be quoted over and over again by politicians, experts, and the press.  The possibilities were great, as the reciprocal problems of the two big countries are many, and the general situation would favour some kind of understanding.

The tension mounting in the Far East and in the dramatic situation in the Middle East  could perhaps have elicited some kind of common initiative. However, the last meeting between the two  Heads of State has not created a great press coverage, due perhaps to the difficulty of the internal situation in the USA, where the relations between the two main parties on domestic problems have been getting worse, monopolising   the general attention.  Or, perhaps, the problems are too complex and too risky, and both countries seem to have adopted a position of   prudence, as the American President tries every possible way to keep his country out of a new war, and the new elected Chinese leader has to deal with a delicate domestic situation.

However, China and the US have progressed in the last few years along a line, which  brought them nearer that before, that is, the future development of both parties on the energy question.  The USA will be in a short time a big exporter of crude oil and gas, and this new source of supply to the world market will inevitably put pressure on the prices of oil and gas.

One of the largest importer and consumer of energy is in fact China, and a lower price will give  a great   new boost to its economy; the country will have the room to  maintain a reasonable rate of growth without stressing the basic structure of the economy. China is not too far from the US, and the oil tankers do not need to cross dangerous areas like the Strait of Hormuz.

The supply of the US natural gas will develop in the same way. It is highly probable that the US will export part of the new gas that it will produce, even if the USA industry is clamouring that the new gas bonanza be reserved to it, creating jobs, and a new spell of economic development of the old country.

Up to now, China has looked to Russia for a pipeline supply of natural gas: now, a new opportunity appears, importing liquefied gas from the USA. In the Far East, the competition for gas markets will increase, as Australia is a great exporter of gas, not too far from the Chinese market. The Chinese appetite for crude oil and gas  will increase in the next ten years at a good rate, and the US will be an important supplier.

Up to now, China and the US were   tied up together by the China’s huge dollar holding, which has given to China a great elasticity in managing its economy. From now on, the USA might become a relevant supplier of energy to China. The US will go back to its historic rank of great energy supplier, and its relations with China will be enhanced by its capacity to supply energy to it. This perspective should be of some interest to Europe, who also needs cheap energy. However, the European economy does not grow, actually seems to have become the “sick man” of the world economy, as it sticks to the catastrophic and absurd German fear of inflation.