72
geared toward diversification, China works toward the pursuit of two main goals;
namely, (1) Access to cheap energy resources in the long term and (2) Increased
energy security (Rahimi et al. 2012:115–116).
China’s energy policy combines a dependence on domestic supplies with seeking
international partnerships to establish the security of supply from foreign energy
reserves in terms of offering backing to labor projects overseas and the integration
of import and export markets. As part of its 13th Five-Year Plan for Energy (Energy
13FYP), the country is concentrating on an annual production of 360 bcm of natural
gas, adding a further one billion barrels of oil to strategic reserves annually, constructing the required pipelines and infrastructure, giving priority to renewable
energy resources and investing $361 billion into renewable energy by 2020, as well
as implementing an energy consumption cap a goal of 15% in non-fossil fuel energy
(www.irna.ir 2017a, b).
China is trying to use energy as a form of “soft power” to advance its major
goals, whether in strategic economic planning in the domestic sphere or in regulating its foreign policy relations with other countries. In this regard, the country not
only seeks to seize the energy resources of other parts of the world but also strives
to consolidate its domination over the energy resources of its neighbors, such as
Taiwan and its consuming markets. In addition, in order to secure the security of
imported energy, oil, gas, and other raw materials, the country has strengthened its
mandate on shipping lines from coastal waters and its neighboring seas from Japan,
Vietnam, and Taiwan to the Persian Gulf, and in the strategy looking to the west, is
looking to seize the energy resources of Central Asia, as well as investing and participating in Russian energy resources. In the eyes of China’s rulers, among major
powers, including China and the United States, energy resources have begun as a
major source of competitive power, in which the gain of one is equal to the loss of
another. In other words, whatever China has won in this big game and competition
is the same as the loss of the United States and the other sides (Yoshihara and
Holmes 2008:23).
Political Economy
The effects of developments in the area of energy include the reduction of import
tariffs, allowing crude oil imports to the private sector, deregulation and the liberalization of the Chinese market under a timetable, including the elimination of quotas
on imports of petroleum products, market liberalization for wholesale and petroleum retailers, and optimization of the domestic pricing system. In light of such an
evolution in China’s political economy, its energy market doors are flooding with
major international oil companies, including Exon Mobil, Shell, BP, Gazprom, and
Saudi Arabia for strategic ties, stock purchases, and billions of dollars of investment. Participation in national macroeconomic projects and access to China’s markets has opened up and has been opened to competition and gaming by major
Chinese companies (Sadeghi 2015:99).
3 International Context of the New Era and the Caspian Sea Region
geared toward diversification, China works toward the pursuit of two main goals;
namely, (1) Access to cheap energy resources in the long term and (2) Increased
energy security (Rahimi et al. 2012:115–116).
China’s energy policy combines a dependence on domestic supplies with seeking
international partnerships to establish the security of supply from foreign energy
reserves in terms of offering backing to labor projects overseas and the integration
of import and export markets. As part of its 13th Five-Year Plan for Energy (Energy
13FYP), the country is concentrating on an annual production of 360 bcm of natural
gas, adding a further one billion barrels of oil to strategic reserves annually, constructing the required pipelines and infrastructure, giving priority to renewable
energy resources and investing $361 billion into renewable energy by 2020, as well
as implementing an energy consumption cap a goal of 15% in non-fossil fuel energy
(www.irna.ir 2017a, b).
China is trying to use energy as a form of “soft power” to advance its major
goals, whether in strategic economic planning in the domestic sphere or in regulating its foreign policy relations with other countries. In this regard, the country not
only seeks to seize the energy resources of other parts of the world but also strives
to consolidate its domination over the energy resources of its neighbors, such as
Taiwan and its consuming markets. In addition, in order to secure the security of
imported energy, oil, gas, and other raw materials, the country has strengthened its
mandate on shipping lines from coastal waters and its neighboring seas from Japan,
Vietnam, and Taiwan to the Persian Gulf, and in the strategy looking to the west, is
looking to seize the energy resources of Central Asia, as well as investing and participating in Russian energy resources. In the eyes of China’s rulers, among major
powers, including China and the United States, energy resources have begun as a
major source of competitive power, in which the gain of one is equal to the loss of
another. In other words, whatever China has won in this big game and competition
is the same as the loss of the United States and the other sides (Yoshihara and
Holmes 2008:23).
Political Economy
The effects of developments in the area of energy include the reduction of import
tariffs, allowing crude oil imports to the private sector, deregulation and the liberalization of the Chinese market under a timetable, including the elimination of quotas
on imports of petroleum products, market liberalization for wholesale and petroleum retailers, and optimization of the domestic pricing system. In light of such an
evolution in China’s political economy, its energy market doors are flooding with
major international oil companies, including Exon Mobil, Shell, BP, Gazprom, and
Saudi Arabia for strategic ties, stock purchases, and billions of dollars of investment. Participation in national macroeconomic projects and access to China’s markets has opened up and has been opened to competition and gaming by major
Chinese companies (Sadeghi 2015:99).
3 International Context of the New Era and the Caspian Sea Region