ABSTRACT
This chapter summarizes the questions motivating the book, the most significant findings of the study, and their implications for our understanding of Chinese foreign policy. China’s overall power has grown rapidly over the last decade. With the country’s growing need for imports, the role of the Chinese national oil companies in securing the resources necessary for the regime to survive has become more important. This book finds that, empirically, over a ten-year period, China’s national oil companies have been driven by economic interests. Theoretically, the book contributes with a framework that can illuminate the increasing role of national oil companies (NOCs) in foreign policy. The chapter then considers the implications of these findings for our understanding of Chinese foreign policy and contributes with insights regarding the rise of China. The argument presented here is that China is motivated by economic interest. This is tested in this study in a larger number of cases than has been done before.
