Assessment of Chinese Energy Policy

At the end of the Cold War, with rise of the U.S. as the as it was superpower, the Chinese headship brought to a close that in the part of energy, the leading technique was to compete with the U.S. at its possess economic game, sending out Chinese companies to secure supplies in the same way that U.S.-based multinationals routinely do. The idea behind that to avoid directly confront with the U.S in term of energy politics.

Chinese Energy Policy

Presently, China is working with other nations to protect energy security and stability all over the world and Beijing considers energy saving one of its essential foreign policy aims. China’s out of the country oil investment is illustrated by the following principle “Consolidate the Middle East, develops the surrounding regions, expand in Africa, and explore the Americas.” As oil import of China is going up imports have grown, China is much conscious to formulate and ensure an energy security policy, more than ever relating to the Middle East. In matter-of-fact, this has marked itself in a main reorganization of the Chinese oil industry in 1998. The government intended to change the foremost oil companies, end the dissection of labor between them, and push them to imitate the major multinationals, in search of upstream production rights overseas to harmonize and eventually replace stagnating domestic production.

Regardless of an all-out diplomatic shove to secure overland supply from Russia and Central Asia and recent deals with Venezuela, China comprehend most of its future imports will have to come from the Gulf and North Africa: Captivating into consideration global oil supply, producing capacity, import costs and other factors, most of China’s future oil imports, accounting for 70-80% of the total, will come from the Middle East and North Africa. As today’s intercontinental oil security is rooted in the jagged distribution of oil resources, China has to be capable to manage with it and get out of it as much as possible. Even though, oil imported from Russia, Central Asia and other parts of the world would help China get better its oil security, there is no refuting that the Middle East and North African oil has been and will keep on to be a big factor in China’s oil security modus operandi.