Jan. 4 at 3:26 PM
$UBER $LYFT $BIDU
Nicolás Maduro's capture on January 3rd didn't just redraft the map of South America, it severed a critical artery of the Chinese economy. Until yesterday, China purchased roughly 76% of Venezuela’s oil output in 2025 at discounts averaging
$8–12 per barrel below market rates according to CNBC.
That arbitrage didn't just insulate China from global energy volatility; it effectively underwrote the aggressive subsidization behind their Autonomous Belt & Road Initiative. Combined with U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities in June 2025, which set Tehran's program back years and left the regime facing economic paralysis, China now faces a two-front energy crisis and Uber and Lyft are right in the middle with the upcoming Baidu robotaxi deployments in London.
https://roadtoautonomy.beehiiv.com/p/end-geopolitical-arbitrage