【英语中国】中国放眼全球以解能源之渴

China's emergence as the world's most voracious energy consumer has wide implications for U.S. foreign policy as Beijing moves to sew up energy sources from the Middle East to Latin America, and strives to take a lead in advanced energy technology.

The Obama administration has emphasized cooperation in its energy diplomacy with Beijing, promoting joint projects on natural-gas exploration and the development of new technologies.

But behind the scenes, experts say China is seeking resources -- and energy leverage -- around the world. Over the past year alone Chinese state-owned companies have signed major deals to extract or export oil, gas, coal, uranium and other key natural resources from Canada, Venezuela, Iraq, Australia, Turkmenistan and South Africa.

'China's main mission is to protect and fuel its growing economy,' says Karen Harbert, head of the Institute for 21st Century Energy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. 'And to do that, China is engaged in a concerted campaign to grab conventional energy resources around the world.'

In November, for the first time, China outpaced the U.S. as the largest buyer of Saudi crude oil. Earlier this year, two Chinese warships made a port call in Abu Dhabi, the oil-rich capital of the United Arab Emirates, the first visit by the modern Chinese navy to the Persian Gulf.

China's fast-growing demand for petroleum -- in large part a reflection of the country's new status as the world's largest automobile market -- has raised fears that as the world economy recovers, oil prices could jump again amid competition for supplies. In Washington, concerns about long-term energy security have prompted the Pentagon to launch new efforts to reduce its dependence on petroleum and seek new sources of fuel for military vehicles and planes.

Oil isn't the only strategic energy resource on China's shopping list. China's coal imports more than doubled in the first five months of this year over the 2009 period, leading some analysts to predict a global scramble for coal reserves as China's appetite increases.

China's thirst for oil has also increased Beijing's influence in the Middle East and parts of Africa -- at the expense, some say, of U.S. clout in those regions. Within the United Nations, Chinese officials have repeatedly watered down more punitive measures aimed at thwarting Iran's nuclear ambitions.

China has also started playing a larger international role, competing for influence in some of the world's most important energy basins. After Baghdad opened up Iraq's oil fields last year to foreign development, Chinese companies poured in and are now the largest foreign players. China also has significant contracts for oil and gas development in Iran.

China recently completed a 1,100-mile gas pipeline to connect its factories and power plants to the vast gas reserves of Central Asia, part of China's stiff competition with Europe over a key energy source. At the same time, China has become a major buyer of liquefied natural gas from Australia, Malaysia and Qatar. It is China's push to adopt and expand more efficient energy technologies -- from solar to advanced batteries for electric vehicles -- that has raised the most vocal concerns lately in Washington policy circles.

President Barack Obama often points to the advances being made in China in touting his own clean-energy ambitions, arguing that the U.S. must move swiftly if it wants to keep abreast of its primary Asian competitor. China is now the largest exporter of solar panels and is fast expanding its capacity to produce wind turbines and advanced batteries for electric cars.

Not everyone thinks the two countries are heading for a tussle over energy.

'There is no reason we have to be at odds with China on the energy front,' says James Woolsey, the former Central Intelligence Agency director who now concentrates on energy technologies. 'In many areas, with both of us being major energy importers, our attitudes should align more than diverge.'

Agence France-Presse/Getty Images查韦斯和中国国家能源局局长张国宝，照片拍摄于今年4月中国成为世界最大能源消费国将对美国的对外政策产生广泛影响，因北京方面采取行动，争取从中东到拉美的世界各地的能源，并极力在先进能源技术方面取得领先。

奥巴马政府强调与北京合作开展能源外交，促进天然气勘探和开发新技术方面的合作项目。

但在幕后，相关专家说中国正在全球范围内寻求资源以及能源方面的影响力。仅去年一年，中国国有企业就达成多项大型交易，从加拿大、委内瑞拉、伊拉克、澳大利亚、土库曼斯坦和南非等国开采或出口石油、天然气、煤、铀以及其他重要的自然资源。

美国商务部21世纪能源协会(Institute for 21st Century Energy)负责人哈伯特(Karen Harbert)说，中国的主要使命是保护和刺激其不断增长的经济。为了实现这一点，中国开展了一场协同一致的行动，在全球范围内获取传统能源资源。

去年11月，中国首次超过美国，成为沙特阿拉伯原油的最大买家。今年早些时候，中国军舰到访石油资源丰富的阿联酋首都阿布扎比的港口，这是现代中国海军首次造访波斯湾。

中国对石油的需求迅速增长（在很大程度上反映出中国作为全球汽车市场的新地位）引发人们担忧随着全球经济复苏，油价可能因对供应的争夺而再度飙升。在华盛顿，对长期能源安全的担忧促使五角大楼制定新举措，减少对石油的依赖，并为军用车辆和飞机寻求新的燃料来源。

石油并非中国买入的唯一一种战略能源。今年前五个月中国煤进口量已较2009年增长了一倍以上，令一些分析师预测，随着中国需求增长，全球将展开煤炭储量争夺。

中国对石油的需求也增大了北京在中东和非洲部分地区的影响力──有人说，这是以美国在这些地区的影响力为代价的。在联合国内，中国官员一再对旨在威慑伊朗核野心的更严厉惩罚措施打折扣。

中国也开始在国际上扮演更加重要的角色，在全球一些重要的能源产地争夺影响力。在去年巴格达对外开放了伊拉克的油田开发之后，中资企业纷纷涌入，如今已经成为最大的外国投资者。中国在伊朗也有着大笔的石油和天然气开发合同。

最近，中国建成了一条1,100英里长的天然气管道，将中国的工厂和发电厂与中亚丰富的天然气储量相连，这是中国与欧洲激烈争夺这个重要能源产地的一部分。与此同时，中国成为澳大利亚、马来西亚和卡塔尔液化天然气的一个主要买家。中国采用并扩大更节能技术的努力──从太阳能到先进的电动汽车电池──在华盛顿政策圈引发了最直言不讳的担忧。

奥巴马总统在宣扬其清洁能源远大目标时常常提到中国取得的进步，他说如果美国想与中国这个主要亚洲竞争对手并驾齐驱的话，美国必须迅速行动。中国如今是太阳能板的最大出口国，并在迅速地扩大风力涡轮机和先进电动汽车电池的产能。

并非每个人都认为中国和美国在能源上存在竞争。

前美国中央情报局(Central Intelligence Agency)负责人、现专注于能源技术的乌尔西(James Woolsey)说，没有理由认为我们必须与中国在能源领域不和；两国都是主要的能源进口国，在很多领域，我们的态度应该更多的是一致起来而不是发生分歧。