Analysis On The Competition And Cooperation Between China And Japan In The Oil Resource In The Middle East

Since oil went into human's civilization, it has become hot between businessmen and an important factor of effecting the international policy and the international relationship. The Middle East is the largest supplier of oil in the world. The volume of its oil reserve, production and export ranks the first in the world. And its proven oil reserve also shows an upward trend. China and Japan have been showing vital strategic interests in this region since a long time ago. In the new situation , it is necessary to analyse the emerging or potential competition and cooperation further on the middle east oil between China and Japan based on previous studies.In China's energy consumption structure, oil is the second. China was a country which relied on imported oil before the foundation of New China. After the foundation of New China, China's petroleum industry started, and became an oil producing country gradually. Along with the development of China's economy, the need of energy increases, expecially the need of oil. This makes China become a country which needs oil importation since 1993. The volume of oil importation increased from 43.80Mt in 1999 to 70.00Mt in 2000 which is three times that of 1998's. According to the statistics of the IEA, the average oil consumption in China daily was 5.46 million barrels in 2003, she has become the second largest oil consumer following the United States.And the oil in the Middle East has become the main import source of China. Since 1993, China has relied on the Middle East more, especially the Gulf region. We imported 2.8522Mt oil from the Middle East, that's 47.76 present of China's total imported crude oil. To 1996, the figure reached 11.96Mt, 52.89 present of that. In 2001 it was 33.8599Mt, that's 56.19%.On the other hand, Japan is a country poor in natural resources, 99.7 present of energy depent on importation, so its energy supply structure is very fragile. Experienced the two oil crises in the 1970s, Japan tried its best to reduce her dependency on oil, but in Japan, the demand for oil is still more than half present of the total primary energy demand. And 85 present of the needed oil is imported from the Middle East. Compared with other developed countries, Japan's oil supply system is very fragile.The Middle East is the most important oil producer for both China and Japan. So both the countries compete with each other in the Middle East. The competition between China and Japan as belows: First, for the mining rights of some oil producers in the Middle East, such as the mining rights of oil fields in the North Africa and the Azadegan oil field in Iran. Second, for investing in the oil industry in Middle East to ensure the amount of oil importation. Third, for petrodollars of the Middle East. Fourth, their different foreign policies to the Middle East.Besides the competitions and conflicts, there is also the possibility of cooperation between the two countries. There are several reasons: First, it is good for both China and Japan if they cooperate with each other. Japan would help China in dealing with the fluctuation in oil market and making the energy policies and regulations better. Also Japan would get inspiration from the new situation of China. In the field of improving the utilization of energy and resolving the problem of dynamic energy, they need help from each other.Second, they used to have a period of mutually beneficial cooperation in energy from 1949 to 1993.Third, the Northeast Asian Petroleum Forum provides a platform for Sino-Japanese cooperation. Thanks to the forum, the countries attended they could communicate with each other, enhance their trust and understanding, and reach a broad consensus on many issues.Forth, it is an opportunity for Sino-Japanese cooperation since they face with some common problems. Such as the security issues of oil transportation lines, the so-called "Asian Premium", the issue of competition with other major consumer areas.Of course, for the day to achieve cooperation on the middle east oil resource, there are many obstacles like the limitations of conception, the effect of U.S., the constraints of history, the conflicts of their energy policies and so on.In a word, in a broader sight, I come to the conclusion: the possibility of Sino-Japanese cooperation in the oil resources in the Middle East is pior to the seriousness of their competition. It is a wise choice to cooperate with each other for their own benefits.