Hidden action or hidden strategy: China's control of its national oil companies

China's rapid economic growth has been accompanied by parallel growth in energy demand, particularly in demand for oil. Due to political and economic constraints on domestic reform, the CPC has focused on the international dimension through the creation of vertically integrated national oil companies.;The foreign investments of these companies have become increasingly controversial due to the high levels of political and financial support afforded them by the CPC. I measure control by employing a model of institutional constraints on state-owned enterprises in conjunction with a managerial variant of Principal Agent theory well suited to political analyses. I conclude that the combination of institutional overlap, the process which led to the formation of the CNOCs as they currently exist and the current overseas activities of the CNOCs all demonstrate that the CPC is in control of the CNOCs.