The rise of great powers: starting from military industry

So far, there has been no Chernobyl nuclear accident. Liu Tao can only attribute it to the good economy of the Soviet Union, which has sufficient funds to maintain nuclear power plants.

The first oil crisis was definitely not only the oil-producing countries in the Middle East that benefited.

The Soviet Union was also an important beneficiary.

One very important reason why the Soviet Union was able to reverse the situation and enter a situation of attacking the United States and defending the United States was that the Soviet Union could obtain a large amount of funds from oil trade every year.

The Soviet Union has always been a major oil-producing country. In addition to using its own oil and the Warsaw Pact, the Soviet Union's oil was exported to Western European countries, which were the main targets of Soviet oil exports.

Since the 1970s, the Soviet Union's oil exports to Western Europe have increased rapidly. In particular, the first oil crisis broke out in 1973, the West broke out an energy crisis, and the international market oil prices soared. The Soviet Union took the opportunity to increase its oil exports to Western countries.

In 1970, the export volume was less than 40 million tons, and in 1975 it increased to 53 million tons, an astonishing increase of 32.5%. By 1976, the Soviet Union's oil exports to Western European countries reached 59 million tons, an increase of 11.3%. In 1979, it increased to 69.2 million tons.

The Soviet Union surpassed the United States in 1976 to become the world's largest oil producer, and has been firmly in the top spot for the past decade.

To date, the Soviet Union produces 13 million barrels of oil per day, of which about 30% is for export. Moreover, the Soviet Union does not export crude oil like the Middle Eastern countries, but often exports refined oil. According to the current Soviet oil production and export volume, the Soviet Union can earn almost $150 billion a year from oil exports.

Among the Soviet Union's foreign exports, oil exports account for a very high proportion, reaching more than 70%.

In many Western European countries, the total export value of Soviet oil, natural gas and petrochemical products in the Soviet Union is very high, and it is not uncommon to exceed 50% or even 70%.

For example, Italy, Sweden, Austria, West Germany, etc. exceed 80%, and even France has reached more than 60%.

In 1979, the Soviet Union sold oil to Western Europe. At that time, the oil price was 10 to 14 US dollars per barrel, and the Soviet Union could earn $13.4 billion from it.

Now that the price of oil is over $35 per barrel, the foreign exchange earned is even greater.

These foreign exchange earnings can fully meet the Soviet Union's demand for importing food and industrial consumables from the West.

Every year, the Soviet Union imports a large number of machines, equipment, food, and raw materials from Western Europe.

So even though NATO and the Warsaw Pact will have a war of words every now and then, and point fingers at each other from time to time, the Soviet Union and Western Europe actually have very close economic exchanges in private.

This is also the Soviet Union's intention. In addition to earning foreign exchange, the Soviet Union exports oil to Western European countries for political purposes. The Soviet Union hopes to deepen Western European countries' dependence on it for energy by exporting a large amount of oil.

Faced with the cheap and stable supply of Soviet oil, Western European countries with huge energy needs find it difficult to refuse. Since the 1970s, almost all Western European countries have imported a large amount of Soviet oil, and many countries are still long-term and stable customers of Soviet oil.

Although international crude oil is the same, you have to know that the Soviet Union transports oil and natural gas to Western European countries through pipelines, and the transportation cost is much less.

Now the Soviet Union is still doing well, and the Warsaw Pact is still very stable. It can be said that the high oil price has contributed greatly to this.

This is also an important reason why the United States is trying hard to suppress oil prices.

Because the United States found that the Soviet Union earned a lot of foreign exchange through oil exports, and the economy of Western European countries became increasingly close. It was obvious that the Soviet Union’s top leaders were caught in a power struggle, but the Soviet Union was actually doing well. This is simply unforgivable.

What makes the United States even more angry is that the Soviet Union has successfully lobbied Western European countries to pay for the construction of new natural gas pipelines and oil pipelines.

If this continues, the two sides may be as good as wearing the same pants.

Just when Liu Tao was about to leave Beijing, a piece of news quickly spread around the world, causing a sensation throughout the United States and the world.

That was the "Iran Gate Incident"!

The secret sale of weapons by the United States to Iran was revealed. Once the secret was made public, the world was in an uproar. Reagan was widely criticized in the United States. He encountered his own "Watergate Incident".

You should know that after the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty, the United States and Iran turned against each other, from close allies in the past to mortal enemies.

The United States wielded the stick of sanctions, freezing Iran's assets in the United States, and prohibiting the import of Iranian oil and the sale of weapons to Iran, etc.

Over the years, the American media has exaggerated this enemy and mortal enemy, describing it as a tyrant dictatorship, backward system, etc.

The hatred of Americans for this enemy and mortal enemy is no less than that for Libya and Gaddafi.

But in this situation, Reagan secretly unfroze Iran's frozen assets and sold weapons to Iran.

This is simply unbelievable.

And many people feel that they have been kept in the dark and deceived.

Americans are burning with anger in their hearts, constantly blasting the Reagan administration.

Liu Tao looked at the news and showed a gloating look.

It's better to die than to die. The more chaotic the better!

Only when there is chaos can you fish in troubled waters.

If the big brother is as stable as Mount Tai, how can the younger brother have the opportunity to turn over and become the boss!

Liu Tao left the capital humming a song and returned to Lu Island.

After arriving at Ludao, local staff took Liu Tao, Zhao Guoping and others to enjoy a seafood feast, and then they went around Gulangyu together.

These days, Zhao Guoping has almost done the inspection and the talks.

To develop and build a modern port is not a simple matter. It requires a lot of investment and local cooperation.

Ludao is very geographically advantageous.

Ludao is very close to Kinmen, which is also an important reason why the "small three links" chose Ludao.

And Ludao is also one of the biggest beneficiaries of the big three links.

Many people in Baodao can take a boat to Ludao, and enter the mainland from Ludao to return home to worship their ancestors, invest, travel, etc.

It can be said that the reason why the above asked Panshan Group to invest in the construction of Ludao Port is for Baodao.

And this is both a political task and a lot of benefits.

Liu Tao is very optimistic about Ludao Port. Once it is well developed, Ludao Port will have a better future than Rongcheng Port, because Ludao, Narcissus City, and Licheng are located in the largest plain in the entire Fujian Province, and also have the largest number of overseas Chinese.

Moreover, with the agreement reached between the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits and the Straits Exchange Foundation, direct shipping, direct air transport and direct postal service between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have been fully launched, announcing the arrival of the era of "three links" between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.

Liu Tao believes that as long as the development of Ludao Port is successful, the entire Ludao Port will be a golden chicken that lays eggs, no less than the port of Hong Kong.

Now Panshan Group has a lot of funds, so it is natural to invest.

The investment and construction of Rongcheng Port and Ludao Port is a political task, but it does not prevent him from making profits for the future development of Panshan Group when completing this political task.

After staying in Ludao for three days, Liu Tao and his team left Ludao. As for the specific planning, design and implementation, there will naturally be a special team to operate.