Since 2008, China has been gradually shifting its oil procurement strategy away from Africa towards producers in the Middle East and the Persian Gulf. Today, Angola is the only African country in China’s list of top ten suppliers. Security is one reason for the downturn in African oil exports to China. Beijing would much rather bring oil and gas overland from Russia rather than as it currently does through the Straits of Malacca where its sea lanes are vulnerable in the event of a conflict with the United States.
Ultimately, China, like many countries, would like to reduce its dependence on imported energy and rely more on renewable sources like hydroelectric, solar and wind. And in terms of electrification, they’re well on their way. Last year, China generated about a quarter of its total output using renewables.
Ye Ruiqi closely follows the Chinese energy market as a Beijing-based climate and energy campaigner for Greenpeace East Asia. Ruiqi joins Eric & Cobus to discuss the country’s rapidly evolving energy landscape.
Show Notes:
- Reuters: China’s national oil companies outline early green energy plans by Chen Aizhu and Muyu Xu
- Bloomberg: China getting its hooks deeper into Middle East oil supplies by Anthony Di Paola, Julian Lee and Brian Wingfield
- The Africa Report: Why Africa’s oil exporters should worry about the China-Iran megadeal by Eric Olander
About Ye Ruiqi:
Ye Ruiqi has been working in Greenpeace as a climate and energy campaigner focusing on China’s renewable energy development, power market reform, energy transition, and IT sector sustainability. She’s currently leading Greenpeace’s data center low-carbon development project. Ruiqi Ye is a leading contributor to a recent Greenpeace East Asia study, Powering the Cloud: How China’s Internet Industry Can Shift to Renewable Energy.
