CONTEMPORARY EURASIA VIII (2) ContEurVIII2 | Page 81

ARAM ABAJYAN
potential remained crucially important for Beijing. Thus, we can conclude
that the region could gradually gain a status of prior significance in
China’s calculations.
It is worth to mention that Beijing’s foreign policy succeeded in
continuation of its economic drive seeking more and more energy
resources. The Middle Eastern countries, especially the energy producers
were developing various mechanisms for their further cooperation with
Beijing without following any suggestions from the West to ignore
China. Thus, perhaps the smartest and potentially more successful US
Middle Eastern policy in accordance with its relations with China would
be an attempt to cooperate rather than compete with Beijing. If so, China
could gain a vital sense of energy security. Washington and Beijing
would have shared interests in the region, and a possibility to see more
stable Middle East could become a reality.
The significance of development of Sino-Saudi trade and
investment ties simply mean, that China achieved in its efforts to
establish itself in the Kingdom’s computations as pleasant and desirable
long-term customer for importing Saudi’s oil. On the other hand, Saudi
Arabia was a long-standing US ally in the region, therefore Chinese
leaders believed, that by establishing closer ties with the Kingdom they
could have an opportunity to force the United States take China more
seriously and accept its role as a global player.
Beijing has developed three major methods to satisfy its growing
domestic oil demands: expanding overseas oil supplies from the region of
the Middle East, diversifying its imports by cooperating with Russia,
Central Asia, as well as reaching to Africa and Latin America, and finally
implementing various programs for securing its oil transport routes.
China’s oil diplomacy along with its huge demands for imported-oil has a
potential to strengthen its energy ties with oil-producers, meanwhile such
a policy complicates its relations with other oil-importing countries.
Thus, in accordance with its huge energy needs China has striven
to expand its overseas oil supplies. Beijing will simply continue its
strategy of maximally strengthening its cooperation with the world’s oil
producers, meanwhile gaining as much oil as it is possible or still
available.
China’s leaders seemed to be aware and sensitive enough to
comprehend completely the possible international reactions regarding
Beijing’s oil diplomacy. Consequently, they are initiating peaceful
approaches for minimizing negative repercussions.
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