Frank Holmes'  Instablog

This is the latest in a year that has seen China make $20 billion worth of overseas deals to acquire natural resources (left chart) and issue an additional $50 billion in loans backed by oil.

China’s overseas activity has picked up considerably over the past two years. All told China it has made about three dozen mining deals and another 32 energy deals since 2000.

All this activity has made some nervous, but when you put the deals into context it’s easy to see that Beijing isn’t taking over the world of resources. This year’s oil deals have given China access to an additional 1.2 million barrels per day (right chart).

That may seem like a lot, but China’s oil use is expected to increase from about 8 million barrels now to as much as 33 million barrels a day by 2025.

To keep its economy cooking, China has to find those additional barrels overseas – even now, its domestic production satisfies only 45 percent of its demand.

All opinions expressed and data provided are subject to change without notice. Some of these opinions may not be appropriate to every investor. None of U.S. Global Investors family of funds held any of the securities mentioned in this article as of 9/30/09. #09-779