Epoch Times - Trump is cutting of the CCP’s sources of oil

March 2, 2026 - Epoch Times

02:01

Trump is cutting of the CCP’s sources of oil | Gordon Chang

Gordon Chang exposes how Trump’s administration systematically dismantles China’s oil lifelines, despite soft-power perceptions—Venezuela’s discounted crude (3–4% of China’s imports) and Iran’s 15–23% supply were crippled via sanctions, starving Chinese factories dependent on cheap fuel while the U.S. national security strategy brands Beijing a "hostile power" bent on South China Sea dominance. [Automatically generated summary]
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China's High Priority 00:02:01
	The thing about Xi Jinping is he knows what Trump is doing, but he can't stop him.
	So tell me more about what he knows what Trump is doing.
	And because I don't think everybody knows what Trump is doing.
	I don't think everybody's clear on that.
	Well, the narrative is that Trump is sort of gone soft on China and on certain things he has.
	But if you look, for instance, at the national security strategy, it's very clear that China is a high priority.
	It may not be the number one priority, which is the Western Hemisphere.
	But if you look through that short document, it's clear that China is foremost in President Trump's mind.
	So for instance, towards the end of it, it talks about how the United States must not allow any hostile power, the phrase that it uses, to either close off the South China Sea or impose tolls on traffic over or on the South China Sea.
	Well, there's only one country that fits that description, that has that ambition and has that power.
	So that's true when you look through the entire document.
	I believe that President Trump is going after the Chinese, and he's not doing it directly, but he is doing it indirectly, and he's cutting off their sources of support.
	Oil, for instance.
	Venezuela supplies maybe 3% to 4% of China's imported oil, but Iran was somewhere between 15 and 23%, depending on the year.
	And that's important because when you put those two numbers together, you get a significant portion of China's imported oil has now been taken off the board.
	President Trump may allow the Venezuelans to sell oil to China, but not at the discounted, heavily discounted rates that China was benefiting from.
	And Chinese factories are now dependent on cheap oil.
	Well, they're not getting it anymore.

Time

Text

China's High Priority 00:02:01

The thing about Xi Jinping is he knows what Trump is doing, but he can't stop him.

So tell me more about what he knows what Trump is doing.

And because I don't think everybody knows what Trump is doing.

I don't think everybody's clear on that.

Well, the narrative is that Trump is sort of gone soft on China and on certain things he has.

But if you look, for instance, at the national security strategy, it's very clear that China is a high priority.

It may not be the number one priority, which is the Western Hemisphere.

But if you look through that short document, it's clear that China is foremost in President Trump's mind.

So for instance, towards the end of it, it talks about how the United States must not allow any hostile power, the phrase that it uses, to either close off the South China Sea or impose tolls on traffic over or on the South China Sea.

Well, there's only one country that fits that description, that has that ambition and has that power.

So that's true when you look through the entire document.

I believe that President Trump is going after the Chinese, and he's not doing it directly, but he is doing it indirectly, and he's cutting off their sources of support.

Oil, for instance.

Venezuela supplies maybe 3% to 4% of China's imported oil, but Iran was somewhere between 15 and 23%, depending on the year.

And that's important because when you put those two numbers together, you get a significant portion of China's imported oil has now been taken off the board.

President Trump may allow the Venezuelans to sell oil to China, but not at the discounted, heavily discounted rates that China was benefiting from.

And Chinese factories are now dependent on cheap oil.

Well, they're not getting it anymore.