CONTEMPORARY EURASIA VIII (2) ContEurVIII2 | Page 64

CONTEMPORARY EURASIA VIII (2)
percentage of China’s overall energy needs, including a huge number of
hydrocarbons. 2
The rapid growth of China’s energy demands triggered hostile
reactions in the West in general, and in the United States in particular.
This phenomenon became an issue of interest and debate within the
foreign policy community as well. The chief topic of debate was about
the prospects of the near future, as well as about the possibility of direct
confrontation between China and the United States for their access to
global oil and gas resources. For instance, the US academic and politician
Henry Kissinger had gone so far as to argue that the most probable cause
for international conflicts in the coming years would be the global
competition over hydrocarbon resources. 3
China’s economic drive and its hunt for oil was influencing
Beijing’s foreign policy and pushing the country towards its neighbors,
such as Russia, Japan, and Central Asian countries. Sub-Saharan Africa
and Latin America regions were important for China as well. As a rising
power, China was gradually seeking more opportunities for access to
global energy resources, and Beijing’s policy negatively influenced its
ties with other global players. At least, it appeared to be unfavorable for
the West, especially for the United States. On the other hand, China’s
rise, along with its huge energy needs, could become a stumbling block
regarding many issues, thus making things more difficult for the Western
players to achieve their expected and desired goals.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) is an international
organization in which the oil-consuming countries of the world pool
information about oil stocks, while harmonizing their actions concerning
strategic petroleum reserves. This organization predicts that by 2030,
Beijing’s oil demand will rise to about 10 million barrels per day, about
80 percent of which will come from imports. 4
China’s energy security strategy: TheGulf region as a priority
The Middle East remained the main source of oil reserves for
China, despite the fact that the country’s growing oil demands were

2 Flynt
Leverett and Jeffrey Bader, “Managing China-U.S. energy competition in the
Middle East,” The Washington Quarterly Vol. 29 (1), 2005, 189.
https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/20051216_leverett_bader.pdf
3 Caroline Daniel, “Kissinger Warns of Energy Conflict,” Financial Times, 2005,
https://www.ft.com/content/4c24ef26-d2f3-11d9-bead-00000e2511c8 (accessed August
23, 2019)
4 Leverett and Bader, “Managing China-U.S.,” 190.
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