As we all know, there has always been a fierce technological race between China and the United States. However, a series of recent events have pushed this race to a new climax, attracting the attention of countries around the world. What is surprising is that this time the United States is no longer targeting China, but directly attacking the Middle East. When Huawei's Mate60 equipped with Kirin core was eagerly awaited in the market, Biden's team was dismissive. They are convinced that China will not be able to develop 7-nanometer chips in the chip blockade of the United States. However, things are not as they thought, and instead they inadvertently reveal a big secret. Now, Saudi Arabia, in order to protect its own interests, has announced that it is considering terminating the petrodollar agreement.
Back in the day of the Huawei Mate60, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Raimondo was in China to witness the breakthrough of Huawei's chips. This made him embarrassed and angry, and he quickly took countermeasures. In just 24 hours, American chip giants Nvidia and AMD have both received notices from Biden's team asking them to further restrict the export of high-end chips, especially artificial intelligence chips, to Middle Eastern countries. Although it seems to be aimed at Middle Eastern countries, it is actually a blow to China. Biden has serious suspicions that the Middle East is reselling chips and technology to China. Recently, the U.S. authorities have been out of the limelight, forcing Saudi Arabia to withdraw from U.S. AI investments and demanding their OpenAI-related shares. OpenAI is a well-known company built this year, launching the high-profile ChatGPT.
However, Saudi Arabia resolutely refused to accept this, and even threatened to terminate the petrodollar agreement. The so-called agreement refers to Middle Eastern oil-producing countries trading their oil in dollars, which they then use to buy U.S. bonds or otherwise invest in the U.S. In this way, the United States not only profited from the oil trade, but also received a large amount of foreign exchange reserves and financial investments. Now, as the rift between the United States and Saudi Arabia deepens, this will undoubtedly seriously affect the key economic interests that the United States has in the Middle East, especially oil.
The Kingdom of the Middle East was once a rich region, however, now they face a difficult choice. They watched as the United States tried to push them to the brink, and they were determined to fight the Biden team to the end. There's an old saying: "I can give you a smile on my face, but you can't be unruly behind my back." "For the Saudis, their face in front of the United States is the so-called "petrodollar".
The Saudis claimed that if the United States insisted on this repressive attitude, the Middle Eastern countries could terminate the petrodollar agreement and use currencies other than the dollar for oil sales in some specific markets, thus choosing a new oil settlement currency. The significance of the petrodollar is that the oil countries of the Middle East exchange their oil** for dollars, and then use these dollars to invest and trade. This is a "win-win" situation for the United States, which will be able to maintain its economic prosperity and hegemony in the long run.
However, now the situation is changing, and the contradictions between the United States and Saudi Arabia are deepening, which will have serious implications for the geo-economic interests of the United States in the Middle East and the Gulf. In this dilemma, the United States is not only facing the struggle for chip hegemony, but also the petrodollar battle with the Middle East. The question now is how exactly the United States should weigh the pros and cons.
Looking back at the various disputes brought about by global technological competition in recent years, it is not difficult to find one common denominator: hegemony and self-control. Whether it is trying to achieve absolute superiority in the field of chips or trying to curb the scientific and technological development of Middle Eastern countries, the United States has frequently caused controversy and turmoil around the world in the process of pursuing national interests.
However, behind the surface of hegemony lies a series of potential risks and hidden dangers. First, in the race for hegemony in the field of science and technology, a single control of one country cannot ultimately achieve long-term prosperity and development. Scientific and technological innovation requires inclusiveness and cooperation, and it is necessary to give full play to the wisdom and creativity of all countries in the world. Otherwise, the monopoly of a single hegemon will only lead to the ossification and stagnation of global science and technology.
Second, turning technological competition directly into a geopolitical struggle is undoubtedly a huge risk for global peace and stability. Fighting openly and secretly and with bayonets will only make the world more turbulent and unstable. All countries should abandon the zero-sum mentality, resolve differences through dialogue and cooperation, and jointly promote scientific and technological progress and the progress of human society.
Finally, abandoning hegemonism and pursuing multipolar and diversified development is positive for the whole world. Multipolarization can not only provide more development opportunities, but also ease international tensions and provide a more relaxed and open environment for global innovation cooperation.
In the context of increasingly fierce global competition in science and technology, all countries should jointly think about how to find opportunities for cooperation in competition and achieve a win-win situation in cooperation. Only in this way can we prosper together in the progress of science and technology and make greater contributions to the development of human society.