ABSTRACT
The People’s Republic of China (PRC) had been a net energy exporter since the 1960s. In 1993, however, China became a net oil importer. Largely as a result of China’s capitalist transition, China’s thirst for energy resources has continued to grow massively in recent years. This is deepening the country’s energy import dependence, which in turn is changing many aspects of China’s energy markets and accelerating China’s integration with the rest of the world. However, with higher dependence on energy imports, particularly imports of oil, energy security has emerged as a top issue for the Chinese leadership. Indeed, the exigencies of energy security have come to influence the conduct of China’s foreign relations.
