World Energy Markets and China’s Relations with West Asia

Abstract

Abstract: Energy ties constitute the foundation of the relations between China and West-Asian countries. Therefore changes occurring in the international energy markets present a new perspective for studying these relations. This paper formulates two new concepts, namely the regionalization of the international oil market and the de-regionalization of the international gas market, and analyzes their impact on the relations between China and the major oil and gas exporting countries in West Asia. The conclusion underlines that these two structural changes in the international energy markets mean that at the core interest level, West-Asian oil and gas exporting countries are moving away from the West and moving closer to China. Therefore, they can inject positive energy for the development of relations between China and West-Asian oil and gas exporting countries by promoting their mutual trade and economic cooperation and by making China play a greater role in ensuring peace and stability in the Middle East.