Research On China Accelerating The Opening Up Of Border Area And The Energy Supply Strategy

As the major strategic commodity, energy plays a key role in national politics and economic development. As a big rising country, along with the rapid energy demand caused by the process of industrialization, urbanization, rural modernization, and informationization, the energy scarcity has become a bottleneck which restricts our country’s sustainable development. So the power shortages and energy supply security has become an urgent issue to be solved in the economic development in China. Energy supply system comprises of domestic energy supply and foreign energy supply. This study focuses on foreign energy sources supply, namely, how to ensure the stable energy sources from the overseas markets. As a special commodity with political and financial nature, energy, which is essential for the development of all countries, has become the target that all nations of the world fight for. Therefore, the study of energy supply security must be analyzed under the political and economic structure of the world and the world energy picture combining with the China’s energy resource endowment structure, energy supply and economy development.With the development of new exploration technology and excavation of unconventional sources, the world energy pattern has greatly changed. In the world energy supply and demand pattern, energy supply shows a real trend of westward march and multi-center, in addition to the traditional Middle East, Africa area, Central- Asia- Russia region with abundant energy has become an important energy supplier due to its regional stability. Southeast Asia and South Asia are offshore important source of energy supply and transport routes. With the continuing eastward of energy demand and voracious appetite for energy in some emerging economies especially in Asian developing nations, China and India are as the two most prominent nationals in energy consumption growth. The shale-gas revolution which makes changes to the global energy format and the emerging unconventional oil and gas have been a primary point of energy exploration, development, and cooperation in future. China has become the first large country needing energy at this stage in the world. However, due to the energy deposit such as rich coal, lean oil and little gas, the need of economic development and the environmental constraints in China, only a better use made of “the two markets or the two resources” can meet growing energy supply and demand. This article emphasizes on how well to get energy through foreign market. Therefore, the status, opportunities and challenges of energy development in China and overseas are first analyzed. At present, the way to acquire energy from overseas exist problems such as decentralized resource, not in-deep cooperation, single energy transport corridor and lack of power in the international energy market. Besides, the response to "China threat theory", "Energy predatory theory", "neo-colonialism" and other international public opinion under the new situation, the rise of "resource nationalism" in the energy-rich region and the competing challenges of great powers appear.Next, how to solve these problems and address challenges? Whether in terms of the international political and economic situation, the global energy structure or from the perspective and the development trend of the domestic energy supply and demand, strengthening international energy cooperation and effectively utilizing of energy resources is an important approach to solve problems of China’s energy supply and energy safety.Currently the world economy is recovering slowly, more and more countries count on the international market to drive the economic growth and there appeares a situation of gradually intense international market competition, which lead to surging "nationalism" as well as various protectionist; To this, the world’s major powers have put forward new foreign economic strategy, for example, the United States through TPP and TTIP implements " The strategy of two oceans" to expand its economic and political influence in the Asia Pacific and Europe with confining China. The two regional trade arrangement excluding China, which has a strong political color, is to improve China’s participation in high standard costs of globalization, weaken the competitiveness of Chinese products, and crack down on the Chinese market appeal. After high growth stage, emerging economies suggested gradually slowing growth, the economic structure adjustment in the difficult process and big downward pressure on economic. So, China witnessed domestic trouble and foreign invasion. In order to cope with the complex international situation, Chinese government with assessing the situation and great foresight proposed the opening-up strategy about speeding up inside open, implementing of China’s Omni-directional open policy and raising the level of the open economy comprehensively on the Party’s eighteenth meeting. The strategic conception of “One Belt and One Road” not only points out the direction of high level foreign cooperation for China, also gives a new way of thinking about how to better get overseas energy, as well as provides a historic opportunity and realistic foundation for further deepening the energy cooperation with neighboring countries.For energy suppliers, consumers and energy transit countries, energy regional cooperation not only builds the energy infrastructure to ensure transportation safety and effectively reduce the risks, but also promote the ability to resist external shocks and avoid energy at a premium to reduce transaction costs. In addition, it is important for China to raise the discourse right of the international energy market. Therefore, whether in terms of the international political and economic situation, the global energy structure or from the perspective and the development trend of the domestic energy supply and demand, strengthening international energy cooperation and effectively utilizing of energy resources is an important approach to solve problems of China’s energy supply and energy safety. The countries and districts along “one Belt and one Road” are almost enegy suppliers and transit countries, such as Central Asia, Western Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia and Africa, they have traditional cooperation with China. With the rising status of Russia and Central Asia in world market, it has become the main country we cooperate with, and also east Afria and west Africa are key areas that energy consumer countries prefer to invest in. what’s more, at those ares locats our country’s energy transport corridor, and the transportation has become more and more essencial in energy security. In addition, there are some important international or regional organizations such as SCO, ASEAN, CAREC, GCC, CICA, and etc., they will provide support for the regional energy cooperation. Both Pakistan Economic Corridor and Meng India Economic Corridor make the cooperation more convenient. Therefore, “One Belt and One Road”strategy provides the conditions for the regional energy cooperation, and energy cooperation must be the key point of “One Belt and One Road”.The research is on the basis of how to carry out the regional energy cooperation in the framework of " One Belt and One Road ", discussing how to deepen dilateral and multilateral energy cooperation in surrounding areas, and making better use of the neighboring countries’ energy market and energy resources, also better participating energy cooperation development around countries from the nation and enterprise level, innovating the mode of energy cooperation, expanding the cooperation areas, and implementing “mutually beneficial cooperation, diversified forms of development and common energy security through coordination” with the surrounding countries rich in resources. Through above ways, it can provide theoretical guidance and practice strategy for our country to carry out the regional energy cooperation.This thesis consists of eight chapters,each chapter is as follows:In Chapter Ⅰ preface, it simply introduces the background, purpose and significance of the research, and briefly summarizes the domestic and foreign scholars about the research status quo of energy security and the international energy cooperation and the literature review, and describes the research methods, innovations and shortcomings.In ChapterⅡ, the inward and extended, and the status quo of China’s current situations, problems and challenges in terms of energy safety are studied. The research target of this article is how to acquire stable energy supplies from abroad energy markets.Chapter Ⅲ puts forward the solution to solve the problem of overseas energy supply, namely, to strengthen international energy cooperation, to expand energy cooperation among the surrounding area. Also, it points out that the participation in international energy cooperation was closely associated with China’s open policy and the surrounding environment in order to deepen the proposed external energy cooperation.Chapter IV presents the impact of China’s open to foreign energy supply, the strategic concept of " One Belt and One Road " provides historic opportunity and new ideas for the energy cooperation based on surrounding area; along "One Belt and One Road ", there exists energy-rich country, energy transit country, which have a natural advantage in the geopolitical conditions. Relying on the SCO, the GCC, and International cooperation organizations such as the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, it is an inevitable choice of deepening energy cooperation with " One Belt and One Road " related to the region and nation in the current situation of "all-round increasing the level of openness" to ensure energy supply security.Chapter V according to relative theories about enery economics and region corporation theory, makes theory foundation for regional energy corporation.Chapter VI respectively analyzes energy cooperation among China, Central Asia-Russia region, the West, Southeast Asia and South Asia, and the status quo on multilateral cooperation in these areas, problems, opportunities of "One Belt and One Road " and further cooperation areas are discussed in depth, which provides a basis for regional energy integration and the formation of regional energy cooperation mechanism.Chapter VII proposes a strategic vision of building regional energy cooperation in multilateral mechanisms under "One Belt and One Road" framework, and analyzes the opportunities and challenges, and gives advice for the content or model of future regional energy cooperation. The policy recommendations about participating in international energy cooperation for governments and enterprises are put forward.In Chapter Ⅷ the summary of the full text is carried on and the future research direction in international cooperation is forecast.