China Invited By U.S to Release Oil From Strategic Reserves

China is expected to tap into it strategic reserves and release some oil upon request from the U.S to take part in the joint sale.
President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed the strategic oil reserves during the virtual summit. The release of oil will help stabilize the energy market and bring down prices of crude which reached a record high last month. The U.S has asked other Asian nations including India, China, Japan and South Korea to put in efforts to increase supply after OPEC producers refused to boost production.
A spokesperson at the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration said on phone, “The bureau is carrying out crude oil release work at the moment. It’s unclear if Chinese authorities are doing so in response to Washington’s invitation, or whether they had prior plans to do so.”
During the virtual summit, no decision was finalize for the oil market, but remained an open discussion for further coordination. Both countries are facing similar issues with increasing oil prices and inflation which is impacting economic recovery.
The spokeswoman further said, “We will release more details on the volume of oil and date of its sale on our website in due time, just like we did in the first public auction.” China has previously used its oil reserves to help bring prices down by auctioning 7.4 million barrels publicly.