 "As Trump goes after oil and gas everywhere, he faces a threat — Chinese batteries may soon power the world")
Even as US President Donald Trump is on a mission to acquire all oil and gas reserves, the world’s leading economies appear to be transitioning to electric vehicles (EVs) and Chinese batteries are powering the world’s adoption of EVs.
Trump’s stated reason to invade Venezuela and whisk away its ruler, Nicolas Maduro, was the control of its oil reserves. Commentators have said that his pursuit to occupy Greenland is also rooted in tapping the island’s natural resources, such as oil and gas.
Elsewhere, Trump has sought to tap into “massive” oil reserves of Pakistan.
But Trump is likely chasing a fading market as China races ahead of the United States to develop electric batteries, the energy resources that will power the future.
Consider these facts: Global EV sales last year rose around 25 per cent year-on-year whereas regular cars grew just 2-5 per cent. Between 2016 and 2025, global EV sales have had an annual growth average of over 40 per cent whereas it has been around 2-3 per cent for regular cars.
And, with a market share of 69 per cent, Chinese batteries are powering more than two-thirds of the world’s EVs, according to SNE Research.
Last year, China’s BYD became the world’s largest EV-seller by surpassing Elon Musk’s Tesla for the first time.
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View AllAs Trump pursues oil, China prepares for future
As Trump has pursued ‘drill, baby, drill’, China —the world’s largest oil consumer— has been busy preparing for the future with the adoption of EVs and advancements of its battery production capabilities.
The situation is such that China is not just reducing its reliance on oil but it is also leading the transition away from oil across the world.
Last year, 54 per cent of new cars sold in China were either EVs or hybrid EVs.
Such high adoption of EVs is a result of China’s investment in electrification of the country. In 2020, China produced a third of electricity that the United States produced. By 2024, however, China was producing two and a half times the electricity that the United States produced. In fact, China produces more electricity than the United States and European Union (EU) combined.
China produces its electricity from coal and hydropower but has been pivoting to nuclear lately. It has 40 nuclear reactors under construction at the moment.
With such a massive electricity supply and battery production, China is transitioning away from fossil fuels and towards EVs. And it is leading the world in the direction as well by displacing American and German car-makers in the EV segment.
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