The New Silk Road: China’ Energy Policy and Strategy in the Mena Region
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Published
Mar 1, 2017
Abstract
China is in dire need of energy resources to sustain its growth. Inrecent years, China has been turning more to Saudi Arabia and Iran in the MiddleEast as well as Sudan in North Africa as trade partners to secure its energy supplyand fuel its increasing growth. This paper explores China’s energy policy in theMiddle East and North African (MENA) region by studying three cases: Sudanin North Africa, and Saudi Arabia and Iran in the Middle East. Data was obtainedfrom review of relevant literature. It is found out that China’s oil policy is verymuch driven by the Beijing Consensus. China has applied an equity ownershipstrategy to have more control over oil flows as a shield against price fluctuationsand to reduce supply interruption. Civil unrest and conflicts in the MENA regionthreatens to disrupt China’s energy supply channels, which implies that Chinashould work for peace in the MENA region to achieve its sustainable energysupply.
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Keywords
Chinese diplomacyenergy policyMiddle EastNorth Africaoil politics
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• Ayodele, T. (2015). “Misconceptions About China’s Interests in Africa.” Georgetown Journal of International Affairs. URL: http://journal.georgetown.edu/misconceptions-about-chinasinterest-in-africa/
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• Bloomberg Business. (2013). “China Eclipses U.S. as Biggest Trading Nation.” [Online] Available from: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-09/china-passes-u-s-to-become-the-world-s-biggesttrading nation.html [Accessed 21 November 2015].
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• Energy Information Administration. (2015). International Energy Statistics. Washington DC: United States Department of Energy http://www.eia.gov/cfapps/ipdbproject/iedindex3. cfm?tid=5&pid=57&aid=6&cid=r5,&syid=2006&eyid=2014&unit=BB [Accessed 21 November 2015].
• Energy Information Administration. (2014). International Energy Statistics -Total Petroleum and Other Liquids Petroleum Production 2014. Washington DC: United States Department of Energy. http://www.eia.gov/beta/international/?fips=su [Accessed 21 November 2015].
• Feng, Z. (2010). “Oil Nexus vs. Diplomatic Crux: China’s Energy Demands, Maritime Security and the Middle East Aspirations.” In China’s Growing Role in the Middle East: Implications for the Region and Beyond. Eds. A. Sager and G. Kemp. Washington, DC: The Nixon Center. Pp. 31-42.
• Keddie, N. (1983). Iran: Religion, Politics, and Society: Collected Essays. London: Routledge.
• Olimat, M. (2013). China and the Middle East: From Silk Road to Arab Spring. New York: Routledge.
• Friedman, N. and Kantchev, G. (2015). “Oil Prices Post Biggest One-Week Gain since 2011.” The Wall Street Journal, February 6, 2015 Available from http://www.wsj.com/articles/oil-prices-rise-again-in-volatile-week-1423218645 [Accessed 21 November 2015].
• Halper, S. (2010). The Beijing Consensus: How China’s Authoritarian Model Will Dominate the Twenty-First Century. New York: Basic Books.
• Hongtu, Z. (2010). “China’s Energy Interest and Security in the Middle East.” In China’s Growing Role in the Middle East: Implications for the Region and Beyond. Eds. A. Sager and G. Kemp. Washington, DC: The Nixon Center.
• Large, D. (2008). “Beyond ‘Dragon in the Bush’: The Study of China–Africa Relations.” African Affairs, 107/426: 45–61.
• Luo, Y. (2010) “China’s Strategic Interests in the Gulf and Trilateral Relations Among China, The US and Arab Countries.” In China’s Growing Role in the Middle East: Implications for the Region and Beyond. Eds. A. Sager and G. Kemp. Washington, DC: The Nixon Center. pp. 23-30. Available from http://cftni.org/full-monograph-chinas-growing-role-in-me.pdf [Accessed 21 November 2015].
• Li, X. (2015). “Dealing with the Ambivalent Dragon: Can Engagement Moderate China’s Strategic Competition with America?” International Interactions 41:480–508.
• Little, D. (2008). American Orientalism: The United States and the Middle East since 1945. University of North Carolina Press.
• Meidan, M. (2016). “The structure of China’s Oil Industry: Past Trends and Future Prospects.” The Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, WPM 66: 1-55.
• Naidu, S. and Davies, M. (2006). China Fuels its Future with Africa’s Riches. Johannesburg: South African Journal of International Affairs 13: 69-83.
• Shen, D. (2006). “Iran’s Nuclear Ambitions Test China’s Wisdom.” The Washington Quarterly 29, 2: 55–66.
• Sun, Y. (2013). “China’s Increasing Interest in Africa: Benign but Hardly Altruistic.” Brookings. URL: https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2013/04/05/chinas-increasing-interest-inafrica-benign-but-hardly-altruistic/
• Raine, S (2009). China’s African Challenges. London: Routledge.
• Ramo, J. (2004). “The Beijing Consensus.” London: The Foreign Policy Centre.
• Romano, G. C. and Jean-François Meglio (2016). China’s Energy Security: A Multidimensional Perspective. Routledge Contemporary China Series.
• Sager, A. (2010) “GCC-China Relations: Looking Beyond Oil-Risks and Rewards,” in China’s Growing Role in the Middle East: Implications for the Region and Beyond. Eds. A. Sager and G. Kemp. Washington, DC: The Nixon Center.
• Salman, M., Moritz, P., and Gustaaf Geeraerts (2015). “Hedging in the Middle East and China- U.S. Competition.” Asian Politics & Policy 7, 4: 575–596.
• Schenker, D. (2013) “China-Middle East Relations: A Change in Policy?” Washington DC: Carnegie Endearment for International Peace.
• Chubin, S. (2012). Iran and China: Political Partners or Strategic Allies, in China’s Growing Role in the Middle East: Implications for the Region and Beyond. Washington: The Nixon Centre. Available from http://cftni.org/full-monograph-chinas-growing-role-in-me.pdf [Accessed 21 November 2015].
• Shirk, S. L. (1994). How China Opened Its Door: The Political Success of the PRC’s Foreign Trade and Investment Reforms. Brookings.
• Sun, D. (2011). “Six Decades of Chinese Middle East Studies: A Review” Bustan: The Middle East Book Review 2: 22.
• Taylor, I. (2006). “China’s Oil Diplomacy in Africa.” John Wiley & Sons. New York: International Affairs 82: 942. The Observatory for Economic Complexity, Country Data, 2012-2014. http://atlas.media.mit.edu/en/
• United States Department of State (2005). “China No Threat to United States in Africa.” U.S. Official. Available from: http://iipdigital.usembassy.gov/st/english/article/2005/07/200507281821401ejrehsif0.5898096.html#axzz3ViUtsTNf [Accessed 21 November 2015].
• Wu, L. (2007). The Middle East Oil and the Sino-U.S. Relations. Cambridge: Journal of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies (in Asia) 3(4).
• Zhao, H (2007). “China’s Oil Venture in Africa.” East Asia 24.
How to Cite
Salam, Justine, and Hany Besada. 2017. “The New Silk Road: China’ Energy Policy and Strategy in the Mena Region”. Studies in Business and Economics 20 (1). https://doi.org/10.29117/sbe.2017.0099.
Section
Articles