Finally, breakneck development has made China the world’s largest net energy importer. Just a decade ago, Americans fretted about their own dependence on foreign oil. Today, Beijing imports nearly 75 percent of its oil and 45 percent of its natural gas, while the United States—thanks to the fracking revolution—has become a net energy exporter.44 China’s energy imports cost the country half a trillion dollars each year.45 They are also forcing China to take expensive energy security measures such as building overland pipelines through Central Asia and an ocean-going navy that can patrol the
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