Doolittle: Handing Unocal Over to the Chinese Raises Serious Security and Economic Concerns
Doolittle: Handing Unocal Over to the Chinese Raises Serious Security and Economic Concerns
In a recent letter sent to Secretary of the Treasury John Snow, House Republican Conference Secretary John T. Doolittle (R-Roseville) voiced his opposition to China's proposed acquisition of Unocal and other energy assets within the United States and urged Snow to review the implications of the Chinese government's acquisition of U.S. energy companies.
Second only to the United States, China is one of the largest consumers of energy in the world. In order to fulfill the energy consumption requirements of its growing population, China has developed an aggressive strategy to acquire offshore assets to supplement its limited domestic supply of resources.
"The United States' energy supply is a matter of ever increasing security importance," Doolittle said. "The production of oil and minerals is necessary to keep our country running, and energy is clearly central to America's wellbeing. I am very concerned about China's aggressive strategy to acquire offshore assets to supplement its own limited supply of resources, including its efforts to acquire our U.S.-based energy and oil companies."
The Chinese government is the majority owner of the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), which has made an offer to acquire Unocal, one of America's leading independent natural gas and crude oil exploration and production companies.
"Handing over our ninth largest oil and gas company to the Chinese government raises grave security and economic concerns," Doolittle continued. "I will continue to work to convince the Bush Administration that doing so is not in our country's best interest.
"It is critical to ensure that our future energy resources remain available to American consumers and that we remain on guard when it comes to our national security interests," Doolittle concluded.
Doolittle signed a letter to Secretary of the Treasury John Snow who is also the chairman of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States asking him to investigate the implications of the acquisition of U.S. energy companies and assets by Chinese controlled energy companies.
http://www.house.gov/doolittle/press/press05/pr7-20-05.html