China’s Energy Diplomacy FES Briefing Paper 13| August 2007 Page 6 The current international energy regime is chan­geable. It is influenced not only by economic, political, and social factors of resource-rich countries but also by international political fac­tors, particularly change in the international ba­lance of power, adjustment of relationships among countries and changes to international rules. Meanwhile, it is also influenced by unex­pected events like armed conflicts and natural disasters and international financial activities. Due to the constant change of the aforesaid fac­tors, the international energy regime is also changeable. The unreasonable and unfair aspects of the international economic regime are very obvious in the international energy regime. The develo­ped countries and the international energy or­ganizations led by them for the most part cont­rol the making of rules for different international energy activities. And most of the developing countries, and particularly the newly emerging countries, mostly have no choice but to accept the rules. The rights and interests of these countries are not appropriately reflected here. The developed countries have important political, economic and military impacts on key oil/gas producing regions, controlling the main oil transport corridors and strategic points in the world. That means, some countries control the energy security of other countries. The multina­tional companies, monitored by the developed countries, control most of the oil/gas resources across the world. Thus emerging countries have only the option of purchasing“second-hand” resources at a high price or engaging in energy development in politically unstable regions. In fact, there is inequality in the use of global ener­gy resources. China’s new energy security concept is winning recognition from more and more countries. As President Hu Jintao stated at the G8 Summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, on July 17, 2006:“Most countries cannot safeguard their energy security without international cooperation. In regimes designed to safeguard global energy security, we should establish and adopt the new notion of energy security based on mutually beneficial cooperation, diverse development and coordina­ted assurance.” 11 As Chinese officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated in a foreign energy policy statement:“China supports efforts exemplified the spirit of energy cooperation and expressed a strong will for a better international energy environment. 11 http://news.xinhuanet.com/newscenter/2006-07/18/ content_4846539.htm to create a stable political environment for glo­bal energy security, to resolve disputes and conf­licts via dialogue and consultation according to the U.N. Charter and the rules of international law, and to develop a mutually beneficial and win-win international energy cooperation, which is the foundation and goal of Chinese foreign energy policy.” The new concept of energy security is in con­formity with the needs of the era and is popular with more and more countries in the world, and it will surely serve as an enormous boost to the formation of a new international energy regime. In promoting the new Chinese concept of ener­gy security, and by deepening the development of the globalized economy, more and more countries are coming to realize the inseparability of international energy markets. This will serve to generally increases the awareness of the need to strengthen cooperation and jointly maintain global energy security. 5 Ensuring Sustainable Development For ensuring sustainable development, China’s energy diplomacy will undoubtedly carry out the guidelines of“coexistence between energy de­velopment and eco-safety; coexistence between energy supply and technology progress”. Thus, to secure access to advanced and affordable energy technologies and to promote cleaner and renewable energy sources will be focal points of China’s energy diplomacy. Energy supply and technical progress have direct connections with the sustainable development of economy and society. The realization of long­term stability of the energy supply is the central goal of sustainable development of energy. The improvement of technology is a major channel to enhance energy efficiency and to make up for the shortage of energy resources. Energy diplo­macy can not only ensure a stable energy supply¸ but can also play a major role in accelerating technical progress. Energy diplomacy can ensure technological progress in various aspects: by assuring access to energy-saving technologies as well as renewable energy technologies; by contributing to the di­versification of energy utilization, to the optimi­zation of industrial and consumption structure, and to the reduction of energy consumption and pollution. Forging ahead in development tech­nology and gaining authority to formulate tech­nical standards for new energy resources will be the focus of international competition in the field of energy technology. Especially the tech-