The market that China needs is the west not too big a market for them in the middle east. Now the current Chinese leadership is hard line communist but the are by nature traders which means to keep the people happy at home they need a market to sell their goods to and that will be the west mainly the US and Europe although Australia imports too. You can bet your bottom dollar that there will be a lot of horse trading going on to keep the trade flowing and if that involves sacrificing jobs in the US and Europe then the politicians will do it. China 's need to export should leave a window of opportunity to "buy" China's silence on various issues they will put pressure on Korea because it suits their purposes. It will be very interesting to see the various power plays in the coming months UK hands over presidency of the G8 to Russia so Putin will be at the helm. Now that is going to be worth watching.
In the mean time I suggest we in the west start looking for some real alternative sources of energy.
Maureen