Mainland has to pursue friendly foreign policy to ensure supply of commodities from around the world
The past two months have been tense for citizens of Taiwan and Japan, with the passage of China's anti-secession law and weeks of demonstrations and attacks on Japanese property while the police looked on and did nothing.
People in Taipei and Tokyo have been asking if China will use violence and war to achieve its political objectives. If they believe Beijing's rhetoric, they have every reason to lose sleep.
But if they look closely at the figures that show how integrated China has become with Taiwan, Japan and the rest of the world, they have less reason to worry.
The latest reminder of the mainland's dependence on other countries comes from Andy Rothman, China macro-strategist at CLSA, in a detailed study entitled 'China Eats the World'. He shows the mainland's insatiable appetite for key commodities, such as oil, copper and nickel.
A conclusion drawn from his forecasts is Beijing has to pursue a pragmatic and peaceful foreign policy to ensure that it gets the resources it needs.