Rebuilding Oil State Capacity (2003–2013)

Abstract

China’s shift to the status of net oil import in 1993 began to steadily push oil security up the Chinese government’s policy agenda throughout the 1990s (Andrews-Speed 2010: 32). However, the continuing ability of international oil markets to meet China’s oil demand during this time served to lessen the perceived insecurity caused by growing oil import dependency (Andrews-Speed 2010: 32). Beijing’s attitude changed dramatically in 2003 in response to a range of energy security challenges that precipitated a sense of energy crisis in China. Internationally, the Iraq War and the subsequent increase in United States’ active presence in the Middle East “reshaped China’s basic conception of the geopolitics of oil and added urgency to its mission to lessen dependence on Middle East supplies” (Goodman 2005). At the same time, China’s booming economy led to a surge in energy demand, with the ever-widening gap between domestic oil production and consumption needing to be filled by imported oil. This prompted the securitisation of energy issues in China, and pointed to the need for the Chinese government to improve oil policy coherence and coordination for the purpose of securing foreign supply, as well as tackle demand-side initiatives aimed at reducing domestic oil consumption.