Search

China is entering the world energy picture like the dragon they claim to be. In the next 10 years China will rival the United States in oil consumption and some say, will be largest oil consuming country in the world. In order to get the oil it needs to sustain its large economic growth rates, China is seeking strategic oil partners throughout the world. Russia, Central Asian states, the Sudan, Iran, Indonesia, and now, Venezula are developing strong oil relationships with China. This paper will focus on the development of the relationship between China and countries in Central Asia over oil. The paper will argue that China is actively developing a relationship with the countries in Central Asia esp. Kazahkstan that is making them much more interdependent. This interdependence is making the likelihood of strong oil relations between China and Kazahkstan even more likely. I will look at how this relationship has developed and discuss where it is going in the future. Finally, I will look at what ramification this has for Chinese oil security policy in general. This paper will give an interesting look into how China's oil security policy is working in the international system today. ..PAT.-Conference Proceeding [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two factors?terrorism and energy-converge to make Central Asia the focus of competition between the United States and its NATO allies, and Russia and China. Regional collective security groupings such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization present a growing challenge to American and NATO presence in this pivotal area. The Central Asian states have incentives to bandwagon with the US and NATO in the war on terror, but resist their emphasis on spreading western-style democracy. Beijing and Moscow eschew regime change in their foreign policies, and are encouraging their Central Asian neighbors, along with the South Asia and Iran, to join in their efforts to balance American unilateralism. This paper assesses the strengths and weaknesses of each approach in the context of Central Asian politics. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]