Trump is obsessed with oil, but Chinese batteries will soon run the world

US PRESIDENT Donald Trump has an unconcealed hunger for natural resources abroad and the power they could grant him.

He declared that the United States intervened in Venezuela to “take the oil”, betting that investors would put up at least US$100 billion to revive a decrepit industry. His gamble is that countries will still want to buy oil from America to power their cars, trucks, ships and planes for decades to come.

Though China is the world’s largest oil importer, its leader, Xi Jinping, is less brash about coveting foreign resources. The country’s leadership is pushing intensively at substituting electricity for oil.