Energy security has emerged as one of the most important contemporary geopolitical issues. Access to reliable, cheap energy has become essential to the functioning of modern economies but the uneven distribution of energy supplies has led to perceptions of significant Western vulnerability. At the same time, many in the West have become wary of China s re-emergence as a major power in global politics, with its impact on Western foreign policies and potential threat to Western energy security.

This book offers fresh insights into the rise of China as a global superpower and the ways...