China's energy security in the 21st Century: Evaluation in terms of Belt and Road Initiative

With the world's largest population and second-largest economy, China's energy demand has exceeded its production capacity. It has placed the country in first place in global energy consumption and importation China's sustainable economic and social development, which is seen today as a part of its national strategy, is possible with access to uninterrupted energy overseas. Therefore, China's energy cooperation within the Belt and Road Initiative scope, which is called the project of the century and seen as the New Mega Development Initiative, has great importance in ensuring China's national energy security. This study aimed to reveal what role this Initiative will play in ensuring China's energy security by researching the relationship between China's energy security and the Belt and Road Initiative. For this purpose, the energy relations that China has established with countries that are considered necessary in energy along the Belt and Road and energy investments arising from these collaborations for energy security have been analyzed. The findings obtained as a result of this study shows that the Initiative will contribute to the diversification of China's overseas energy resources, shipping routes, energy suppliers, ensure the security of energy investments, and have a say in the global energy market. It has further revealed that the Initiative has some risks such as geopolitical, financial, security risks, and lack of transparency. It is concluded that China's full long-term overseas energy security will depend on whether the Initiative can successfully manage these problems.