China's Global Energy Strategy: A Case Study on its Power Dynamics with Central Asian States"
Keywords:
Energy Diplomacy, China's Global Energy Strategy, Central Asia, Geopolitics, Strategic Partnerships, Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Energy InfrastructureAbstract
This paper explores China’s evolving global energy strategy through a focused case study of its power dynamics with Central Asian states. Considered to be the world’s largest energy consumer and importer, China’s growing dependence on foreign energy sources, especially fossil fuels have heightened concerns over energy security and geopolitical vulnerability. In response, China has strategically turned to Central Asia, a region rich in oil and gas, to diversify its energy supply and reduce reliance on politically unstable or maritime routes. Through initiatives like the Belt and Road Initiative and major infrastructure projects such as the Central Asia-China Gas Pipeline, China has established robust energy partnerships, enhancing both regional development and its own geopolitical influence. However, these engagements also present risks, including environmental concerns, debt dependency, and geopolitical competition, particularly with Russia and Western powers. This paper examines the dual dimensions of opportunity and risk inherent in China's Central Asian energy diplomacy. It offers comprehensive policy recommendations, including the establishment of multilateral cooperation frameworks, investment in sustainable and transparent infrastructure, strengthening of bilateral agreements. The study concludes that a balanced, cooperative, and sustainability-oriented approach is essential for securing long-term mutual benefits and regional stability in the context of China’s global energy ambitions.
Downloads
References
AIIB. (2018, August 6). governance members of bank. Retrieved from AIIB.
Aiqun Yu, S. L. (2024, july). China continues to lead the world in wind and solar, with twice as much capacity under construction as the rest of the world combined. Retrieved from global enery monitor : https://globalenergymonitor.org/report/china-continues-to-lead-the-world-in-wind-and-solar-with-twice-as-much-capacity-under-construction-as-the-rest-of-the-world-combined/#:~:text=The%20first%20wave%20of%20%22mega,the%20second%20and%20third%20waves.
Aiqun Yu, S. L. (2024). China continues to lead the world in wind and solar, with twice as much capacity under construction as the rest of the world combined. Beijing : Global energy monitor .
Akita, H. (2019, September 27). Russia and China romance runs into friction in Central Asia. Retrieved from Asia Nikekki.
Asia, W. B. (2017). World Bank in Central Asia. Retrieved from World Bank : https://www.worldbank.org/en/region/eca/brief/central-asia
Bank, W. (2019, june 18). Belt and Road Economics: Opportunities and Risks of Transport Corridors. Retrieved from World bank group: https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/regional-integration/publication/belt-and-road-economics-opportunities-and-risks-of-transport-corridors
Bednarski, L. (2021). Lithium: The Global Race for Battery Dominance and the New Energy Revolution. Hurst Publishers.
Burke, J. (2023, july 6). Central Asia: Trade with China registers strong growth during first half of 2023. Retrieved from Eurasia net: https://eurasianet.org/central-asia-trade-with-china-registers-strong-growth-during-first-half-of-2023
Cheang, C. (2019, March 2). Kazakhstan: End of an Era. Retrieved from RSIS: https://www.rsis.edu.sg/rsis-publication/rsis/kazakhstan-end-of-an-era/#.XdWHZ9X7R6s.
Chen, F. F. (2013). China and Central Asia:A Significant New Energy Nexus. Trinity College, 3-7.
Chen, X. G. (2020). Chinese Overseas Development Financing of Electric Power Generation: A Comparative Analysis. One Earth, 3(4, 491–503.
Cheney, C. (2019). China’s Digital Silk Road: Strategic Technological Competition and Exporting Political Illiberalism. Honolulu: Pacific Forum Issues and Insights Working Paper 8 (19).
China, E. o. (2023). Xi Jinping Holds Talks with President Sadyr Zhaparov . Retrieved from Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Kingdom of Sweden: http://se.china-embassy.gov.cn/eng/zgxw_0/202305/t20230521_11080836.htm
China, M. o. (2021). China’s Trade and Investment Cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative . Beijing: Ministry of Commerce.
China., E. p. (2023). Energy profile China. Retrieved from International Renewable Energy Agency: https://www.irena.org/-/media/Files/IRENA/Agency/Statistics/Statistical_Profiles/Asia/China_Asia_RE_SP.pdf
CSIS. (2019). China and Central Asia. Center for strategic and international studies.
house, F. a. (2022, 10 25). China’s Influence in Central Asia:. Retrieved from foreign affairs house committee republicans: https://foreignaffairs.house.gov/china-snapshot-project-central-asia-2/
Howe. (2023). Explainer: The numbers behind China’s renewable energy boom. Retrieved from Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/numbers-behindchinas-renewable-energy-boom-2023-11-15/
Howe, C. (2023, 11 15). Explainer: The numbers behind China’s. Retrieved from Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/numbers-behindchinas-renewable-energy-boom-2023-11-15/
Huang, C. &. (2015). Global technology leadership: The case of China. Science and Public Policy43(1), 62–73.
IEA. (2022). Global EV Outlook 2022. Retrieved from international energy agency : https://www.iea.org/reports/global-ev-outlook-2022
Jia, Z. &. (2021). How to achieve the first step of the carbon-neutrality 2060 target in China: The coal substitution perspective. Energy, 233,.
Joe, C.-S. (2023). The ‘new three’: How China came to lead solar cell, lithium battery and EV manufacturing. Retrieved from China Dialogue.
Lei Bian, S. D. (2024). China's role in accelerating the global energy transition through green supply chains and trade. Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment., 2-34.
Liu, W. J. (2022). Pathways to peak carbon emissions in China by 2030: An analysis in relation to the economic growth rate. Science China Earth Sciences, 65(6), 1057–1072.
Ljungwall, C. (2017). “Mending vulnerabilities to isolation: how Chinese power grows out of the development of the Belt and Road Initiative. The RUSI Journal 162, no. 5, 26-33.
MELNIKOVOVÁ, L. (2020). CHINA’S INTERESTS IN CENTRAL ASIAN ECONOMIES. HUMAN AFFAIRS 30,, 239–252.
Misiągiewicz, J. (2023). Energy security as a research area of international security. International Relations, 2,, 26.
Mueller, J. T. (2022). The Dual Dependency of Natural-Resource-Rich Labor Markets in Contemporary Society. Sociological Theory 39(2.
Nedopil. (2023, 2). China Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) investment report 2022. Retrieved from Green Finance & developement center FISF Fudan University.
Nyabiage. (2024). Chinese firms agree to raise investment in DRC copper-cobalt mining deal. Retrieved from South China Morning post: https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3250881/chinese-firms-agree-raise-investmentdemocratic-republic-congo-copper-cobalt-mining-deal
Ozat, M. (2023, 8 22). Navigating China's Path to Engagement in Central Asia. Retrieved from Caspian Policy Center: https://www.caspianpolicy.org/research/energy-and-economy-program-eep/navigating-chinas-path-to-engagement-in-central-asia
QINHUA, X. (2007). China’s Energy Diplomacy and its Implications for Global Energy Security. FES Briefing Paper 13, 2-8.
Ren Haiping, Y. Q. (2004). ‘New Change in World Energy Geopolitical Structure. National Energy Security Report, 153-156.
Research, E. (2022). Economic Cooperation between Central Asia and China. Retrieved from Eurasian Research.org: https://www.eurasian-research.org/publication/economic-cooperation-between-central-asia-and-china/
Safa, H. (2017). The impact of energy on global economy. Int. J. Energy Econ. Policy, 287–295.
Sharif, H. (2015). Global technology leadership: The case of China. Science and Public Policy, 43(1), 62–73.
Umarov. (2020). China Looms Large in Central Asia. Moscow: Carnegie Moscow Center, 3-27.
UMBACH, F. (2019). China’s Belt and Road Initiative and Its Energy-Security Dimensions. RSIS working paper, 4-47.
UNIDO. (2022, may 17). UNIDO - China Energy Partnership. Retrieved from United nations industrial development organization: https://www.unido.org/news/through-renewable-energy-innovation-fund-reif-unido-and-its-partners-will-support-uruguays-2nd-energy-transition-decarbonizing-transportation-and-industry-sectors
Vakulchuk. (2019). China’s Belt and Road Initiative through the Lens of Central Asia.” In Regional Connection under the Belt and Road Initiative: The Prospects for Economic and Financial Cooperation,. London: Routledge.
Walsh, J. R. (2020). China and the New Geopolitics of Central Asia. Asian Survey, 33(3),, 272–284.
Wang, N. (2022). Five takeaways from China’s BRI engagement in 2022. Retrieved from Panda Paw Dragon Claw.
Xia, C., Ye, B., Jiang, J., & Shu, Y. (2020). Prospect of near-zero-emission IGCC power plants to decarbonize coal-fired power generation in China: Implications from the GreenGen project. J. Clean. Prod, 271.
Xiao, X. (2016). The “Belt and Road Initiative” and China-Israeli Relations.”. Journal of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies (in Asia) 10, no. 3, 1-23.
Xinhua. (2018, 9 6). Insightful! Xi Jinping's discussion of the Belt and Road Initiative over the past five years. Retrieved from Xinhuanet.com: http://www.xinhuanet.com/politics/xxjxs/2018-09/06/c_1123391245.htm
Xuanli, L. J. (2021). China’s energy diplomacy towards Central Asia and the implications on its belt and road initiative. THE PACIFIC REVIEW , VOL. 34, NO. 3, 490–522.
Zan, T. (2016). Turkey Dream” and the China-Turkish Cooperation under the “One Belt and One Road” Initiative.”. Journal of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies (in Asia) 10, no. 3 , 50-72.
Downloads
Published
Data Availability Statement
Data sharing not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated or analyzed during the current study.
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Dr. Asia Mukhtar, Nirmal Nasar Cheema Nirmal Nasar (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
