Sino-US Energy Triangles ─ Resource Diplomacy Under Hegemony

In 1993, China became a net importer of energy, but it really was not until the early to mid-2000s that the world began to pay more attention to China’s energy needs and its potential impact on the world. With China’s energy search occurring within a hegemonic global structure dominated by the United States, as China enhances its ties with energy rich states - which it must do to continue its economic rise - the United States, by virtue of its hegemonic position, has some interest in that relationship. Examining this triangular relationship and questioning whether the US and China are in competition when it comes to access to the energy of a third state, all within the context of a potential power transition, is the aim of this book. Including case studies on China's energy relationship with countries including Canada, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Anola, Nigeria, Brazil, Kazakhstan, Iran, Sudan and Venezuela, this book adds hugely to the literature in fields such as US-China relations, international relations, Chinese foreign policy and global energy geopolitics.

David Zweig is Chair Professor of Social Science, Associate Dean of the School for Humanities and Social Science and Director of the Center on Environment, Energy, and Resource Policy at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

Yufan Hao is Dean of the School of Social Sciences and Humanities at the University of Macao.