Kazakhstan in the People’s Republic of China’s Energy Security Policy

Nowadays, energy security is a growing concern in the state foreign policy. The interdependency in the energy field is a very important dimension of the contemporary relations between states and transnational corporations. The Central Asia region is not only the undiscovered reservoir of oil and gas, but also the strategic “chessboard” with many internal and external players, where the new great game started after the Cold War. Kazakhstan, because of the geopolitical position in the center of Eurasia, and as one of the biggest producer of energy resources, is becoming significant in the international energy market. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, it became open to foreign investments. The growing energy needs have given the People’s Republic of China (PRC) a strong interest in developing ties with energy-producing states in the Central Asia region to build necessary pipeline infrastructure [Kandiyoti 2008]. Kazakhstan is getting increasing importance in this context. Kazakhstan and all Central Asia region seems the most likely to play an important role in the Chinese strategy to reduce its dependence on energy supplies from the Middle East.