ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The first chapter starts with an examination of the fundamental issues in energy security before moving on to provide an assessment of China's energy needs up to 2020, which includes projections for energy consumption, prospects for energy production and forecasts for levels of energy imports. The second chapter analyses the reasons why the Chinese government has decided to adopt this predominantly strategic approach. The third and final chapter addresses the question of the implications, for the West, of China's energy security policy and its preference for a strategic rather than market-oriented approach to energy security. This involves a critical assessment of some of the most prominent fears and concerns of the Western strategic community that China's import needs could lead to global energy scarcity; that China will use force, particularly in the South China Sea,.
