China Gulf Oil Cooperation Under The Belt And Road Initiative

This book not only discusses how to further deepen the oil cooperation relations between China and the Gulf Council Countries in the context of “the Belt and Road Initiative”, but also investigates how to ensure the security of the entire oil supply chain including oil supply, oil transportation channels, oil demand, and petroleum reserves in China. Further, it examines a novel, win-win oil cooperation between China and the GCC countries, known as joint oil stockpiling. The results presented offer guidance for similar energy cooperation between China and other energy producing countries and also provide a new perspective on how to improve the research on and understanding of China’s energy security issues and multi-lateral energy cooperation issues, making the book of particular interest to engineers and scientists in the field of energy, international relations, and oil stockpiling enterprises.

Since China announced the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2013, the Gulf States have regarded it as a means for diversifying their national economies in order to reduce dependence on oil revenues and to achieve their national development strategy. The Persian Gulf region has a significant role in the successful implementation of BRI. Emerging strategic, diplomatic and financial partnerships will enable China to control the flow of its exports to world markets. The BRI has five major goals: Policy coordination, facilities connectivity, free trade, financial integration, and people-to-people bonds. Facilities connectivity, which focuses on transportation and energy infrastructure, is the initiatives priority. The integration between the national development plans of Gulf monarchies, the economic reconstruction plans of Iraq and Iran, and the new economic goals of Saudi Arabia, with Chinas Belt and Road vision have converged to bring forward opportunities. The implementation of the new Silk Road strategy will unleash a regional infrastructure boom by connecting China with Asia, Europe, and Africa by land and sea, boosting renminbi internationalization. Nevertheless, there are challenges that could complicate the envisaged bilateral partnerships. Saudi Arabia: The strategic synergy between the BRI and Saudi Vision 2030 has forged a joint economic development path, but external conflicts (Yemen, Iran) could derail plans. Iran: While Tehran has a special geographical status in West Asia, Washingtons decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear agreement might create Sino-Iranian trade barriers. The UAE: In July 2018 bilateral relations were elevated to a comprehensive strategic partnership. The synergy between the BRI and UAE Vision 2021 is multifaceted trade, energy, infrastructure and logistics, financial services, military ties, tourism and cultural cooperation but very complex. Most of the Gulf States are governed by monarchies, are at the primary stage of industrialization, and are susceptible to US and European influence. The challenges Chinas ascendancy poses for the US, and the inevitable geopolitical fight back, in conjunction with Gulf regional turbulence, mean that the BRI project will face substantive challenges in the years ahead.

This book examines China’s relations with member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council. It highlights the depth of China’s ties with the region bilaterally and multilaterally on a five-dimensional approach: political relations, trade relations, energy security, security cooperation, and cultural relations. Regarding each of these criteria, the GCC countries enjoy a strategic significance to China’s national security, vital interests, territorial integrity, sovereignty, regime survival, and economic prosperity. China has been an integral part of the political developments on the Arabian Gulf scene since the 1950s. Their bilateral ties have grown steadily since the Economic Reform Era, culminating in strategic partnership two decades later. China and its Arab Gulf partners have embarked on an ambitious economic cooperation that includes joint ventures in oil upstreaming and downstreaming, mammoth highway and railroad projects, construction projects, and above all, strategic security coordination in reference to security threats. Both sides are also engaged in a process of revival of the Silk Road within the Belt and the Road framework. Sino-Gulf bilateral trade relations reached $159,419.20 billion in 2014. The two sides aim to increase it to $600 billion by 2020, a goal within reach given the fact that they are concluding the China-GCC Free Trade Agreement, which will transform their bilateral ties.

This book focuses on the important theme of economic cooperation along the Belt and Road. Starting from an analysis of current situation, the book defines the cooperation direction and specific tasks for extensive fields and goes on to provide a systematic analysis of the cooperation mechanism, trade, investment, infrastructure construction, energy and industry park cooperation along the Belt and Road. Using in-depth research on the situation, opportunities and challenges in pushing forward the economic cooperation along the Belt and Road, the author puts forward policy suggestions on the way forward.

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s “One Belt, One Road” (OBOR) vision, heralded as an attempt to revive the pre-modern Silk Route, is intended to strengthen West Asia’s economic links with China through ambitious infrastructural projects. Central to this are fast-track rail links, funded by the newly-established Asia Infrastructure and Investment Bank (AIIB), which has its headquarters in Beijing. This book explores the implications of OBOR and the AIIB for the Middle East/West Asia, and addresses a number of key strategic questions arising from China’s new initiatives. These include: how far are the strategic imperatives underpinning China’s policies connected to the political dynamics of Xinjiang and the spread of radical Islam in Central Asia? How are Middle Eastern stakeholders’ views of China affected by the new initiatives? How does China’s increasing involvement in the Middle East/West Asia affect other regional powers with ambitions in the region, notably Russia? The book also considers the impact of China’s increasing presence on individual countries, including Saudi Arabia and Israel.

This book analyzes the progress of the MSRI, highlights the political and economic factors affecting its realization, and offers insights into the political and economic implications of China’s endeavor. It focuses specifically on countries within Africa and the Middle East to provide a basis for a substantive examination of these issues in a manner sensitive to the milieu in individual countries and relevant regions. It represents the final volume in a well-received series on China’s Maritime Silk Road Initiative (MSRI), which, so far, includes books covering China’s MSRI and South Asia (Palgrave, 2018) and China’s MSRI and Southeast Asia (Palgrave, 2019). This book will interest scholars of China, international relations, and the relevant regions, journalists, and policymakers.

In the third decade of the 21st century, Asia remains the global center of economics, politics and security. Asia is at the forefront of wealth creation, innovation, and sustainability. There is a growing demand for knowing more about Asia. This Major Reference Set (MRS) is designed to help general readers as well as specialists to have a good grasp of the latest developments in Asia in the key areas of geopolitics, geoeconomics, and sustainability.With 3 volumes, this MRS covers all major dimensions of Asia's political economy, regional security, and sustainable development. Volume 1 unpacks and examines geopolitics and foreign policy strategies of key Asian states in response to major security challenges associated with growing US-China rivalry.Volume 2 covers geoeconomics, entrepreneurship, regional integration, and development models. Trade, investment, innovation, and regional cooperation have been essential to Asia's continued success.Volume 3 offers a critical overview of environment, public health, and human security in Asia. Case studies are selected from countries that are at different stages of development and facing different environment and health challenges today.This interdisciplinary MRS is a fine example of international cooperation, with contributors who are all established scholars and experts in their fields of study hailing from different parts of Asia as well as North America and Europe. It is a must-have for anyone keen on understanding Asia's dynamic development and daunting challenges in the post-COVID world.

The book considers the impact of COVID-19 on the GCC member states through the prism of challenges faced by their hydrocarbon sector. Yet, the publication’s discourse is not solely focused on the problems experienced by the oil and gas industries of the GCC member states after the beginning of the COVID pandemic. Instead, the contributors will analyze how these challenges and subsequent response to them affected other aspects of the GCC socio-economic and political development, from direct impact of the COVID on the energy sector of the GCC to socio-economic consequences of the oil market crisis for the region and its potential fallouts for the international relations of the Gulf.