Escalating Food and Fuel Costs Create Security Concerns

What would happen if escalating fuel and food costs created widespread unrest in China? The first thought is that the government would crack-down in a very harsh manner to stop any political unrest. A second possible scenario is that their eyes would turn elsewhere -- perhaps to the perceived source of their woes. The United States? No. The Middle East. Oil prices are driving the other problems.

With the taste of capitalistic advances in the economy, the Chinese people will not be satisfied with a heavy-handed state policy to force them to "absorb" fuel price increases without some resistance. The size of the Chinese population is such that unrest could quickly grow to a size that would be difficult to handle by the internal police and military. So, the logical approach for the Chinese government is to attempt to redirect that energy. A destabilized China would be a dangerous thing indeed.