That China is not shy about securing its natural resources needs is well established. The country’s economy continues to grow at a jaw-dropping pace, and with it the demands of its population and businesses, but China is dependent on foreign lands for many of its requirements. It is estimated that soy bean import demand will rise from 37 million tonnes in 2008 to 83 million tonnes in 2020, and that crude oil imports will rocket from 179 million tonnes to an expected 1.74 billion tonnes in the same period – an increase of almost 1000%.
Luckily for China, many of the commodity rich countries of the world have welcomed it with open arms. However, the response to China’s growing appetite for the world's resources is not always positive, and the country is beginning to discover that not every country is willing to hand over its riches easily.
