Berkeley Undergraduate Journal

China’s rapid rate of economic growth in the last few decades has increased its appetite for energy resources far beyond its production capability. China is now the world’s second-largest consumer of oil. To satisfy this need, Beijing has pursued an aggressive ‘going out’ policy to secure oil resources in every market it can. The resulting webs of interdependence have influenced China’s foreign policy, as it now finds itself bound to political, economic and security situations around the globe. This paper looks at how China has developed its oil strategy and what impact the search for oil has had on its foreign policy. By focusing on three case studies—Sudan, Iran and Venezuela—the paper evaluates different formulations of Chinese oil strategy, and examines possible inferences about the future implications of this strategy.