Playing the Game or Changing the Rules of the Game: Chinese and European Approaches to Energy Cooperation in Central Eurasia

Abstract

As a region rich in energy resources, Central Eurasia has received much attention from importers such as China and the European Union. Recent years have seen Beijing develop and extend energy corridors out of Central Eurasia by means of several infrastructure interconnection projects carried out under the aegis of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. This article analyses the characteristics of Chinese engagement with Central Eurasia and contrasts these with the approach to energy cooperation taken by the European Union. These include the prominence of political and economic considerations in decisions about infrastructure development, the level of involvement of actors below the state, and the tendency to bilateralise and multilateralise cooperation around infrastructure. It is argued that China pursues a geographic or corridor approach to the development of the region’s resource economies. This is contrasted with the horizontal or sectoral approach adopted by the EU. Whereas Brussels has sought to reform the Central Asian energy market in line with its own standards and interests—and has in the process challenged established patterns of state ownership and control in the region—Beijing has adjusted itself to the developmental needs of its partners and has focused on opening new conduits for energy exports out of the landlocked region. The article uses official statements and press releases by Chinese and EU diplomatic missions in the region, annual reports of state-owned enterprises operating there, and confidential interviews conducted in Brussels, Geneva and one of the Central Asian capitals.