Nötzold, Antje

Abstract
China is by now the world’s largest energy consumer, accounting for 11 percent of oil, 3.5 percent of natural gas, and nearly half of all coal consumption worldwide. The IEA projects that solely China will account for 30 percent of global growth in energy demand until 2035 and its share of global energy consumption will increase to 23 percent. Since the turn of the millennium this immense rise of demand encounters increasingly tight resource markets and Beijing shows an extraordinary pragmatism to enforce its interests in terms of energy policy abroad. All political, economic and diplomatic capacities are utilized to diversify its supplies. Accordingly, the Chinese energy policy affects the world markets as well as the global supply security. Although the assessments regarding the Chinese impact on global energy supply security are quite diverse, a policy of wait and see is not sufficient. The article elaborates options to react to the challenges evolving from the Chinese energy policy.
LINK