new energy is developing very fast, which will greatly narrow the gap in the pattern
of new energy production and consumption between China and the EU; the latest
data shows that China’s capability for solar photovoltaic power generation will
substantially improve in the future.
8.3.2 China-EU Energy Relations
China-EU energy relations have the characteristic that cooperation and competition
coexist. As energy consumers, China and the EU share many common interests and
appeals on today’s global energy market; for example, how to keep a stable situ-
ation in energy producing regions, stabilize prices on the international energy
market, safeguard the safety of energy transport channels, increase the production
capacity of energy producing countries, etc. However, the EU member states have a
longer history and richer experience of participating in the global energy gover-
nance system than China; all of the 27 EU countries are IEA members, while
currently China is participating in activities of the Energy Charter Treaty
Organization only as an observer. In recent years, the EU’s energy strategy towards
China has changed positively with the increasing awareness that China is a large
rapidly rising energy consumer, and the global energy governance system cannot do
without China. China should play a more active role as a large energy consumer in
the global energy governance system; on today’s international energy market, the
situations of China and the EU share many similarities; China can play an active
role in improving the bargaining positions of energy consuming countries and
energy producing countries; China’s participation in the global energy governance
system is beneficial for the entire EU. After thefinancial crisis, the EU’s foreign
energy investments were in small quantities and China is urgently needed for
increasing development and investments in new oil and gas resources in order to
mitigate the world energy shortage.
The structure of China’s energy consumption is different from that of the EU,
and China’s degree of dependence on foreign energy is lower than the EU’s;
however, China’s energy consumption is growing faster than that of the EU; under
the condition that the traditional international energy output is limited, China-EU
energy relations are certainly accompanied by competition. The EU believes that
China’s active stimulation of energy diplomacy in Africa constitutes challenges for
the EU’s traditional sphere of influence, thus the EU offsets China’sinfluence in
Africa by means of such measures as theAfrica Strategyand theEU-Africa Energy
Alliance, etc.; meanwhile, the EU uses ideological apparatus such as“human
rights”, etc. to list Angola as a“failed state”and Iran as a“state which sponsors
terrorism”; it frequently imposes economic sanctions, which directly threatens the
safety of the international energy supply for China. In recent years, the focus of
China-EU energy competition has shifted from the Gulf region and Africa to
Central Asia. Previously, China-EU energy competition focused on obtaining oil
from Africa and the Gulf region; with the overall considerations of transport safety,
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