Lawmakers seek info on risks of China holding US debt

 © AFP/File AFP

AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Annual US military spending legislation unveiled Monday calls for the Pentagon and the US spy chief to determine whether China's vast holdings of US debt pose a national security risk.

The US defense secretary and director of national intelligence would have 120 days after the bill's adoption to report back to the US Congress on whether Beijing could draw a military advantage from its status as a major US creditor.

The report must include "a discussion of any options available to China for deterring United States military freedom of action in the Western Pacific as a result of its creditor status," according to the legislation.

China stakes claim to S. Texas oil, gas

Monica Hatcher
Houston Chronicle

State-owned Chinese energy giant CNOOC is buying a multibillion-dollar stake in 600,000 acres of South Texas oil and gas fields, potentially testing the political waters for further expansion into U.S. energy reserves.

With the announcement Monday that it would pay up to $2.2 billion for a one-third stake in Chesapeake Energy assets, CNOOC lays claim to a share of properties that eventually could produce up to half a million barrels a day of oil equivalent.

It also might pick up some American know-how about tapping the hard-to-get deposits trapped in dense shale rock formations, analysts said.

As part of the deal, the largest purchase of an interest in U.S. energy assets by a Chinese company, CNOOC has agreed to pay about $1.1 billion for a chunk of Chesapeake’s assets in the Eagle Ford, a broad oil and gas formation that runs largely from southwest of San Antonio to the Mexican border.

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