New Great Game and China’s Energy Interests in Central Asia

Abstract

The Great Game was initially a competition among the Russian and British, the two main imperial states of the 19th century for strategic control of the Central Eurasia. The New Great Game is distinguished by the ancient Great Game on the basis of a methodical observation of the theoretic models with respect to the number of key actors, as well as the scope and complexity of their relations. The traditional rivalries of power politics revealed in the beginning of the 21st century has permeated into the economic, military and political affairs of Central Asia on accounts of which it is ascribed as a “New Great Game”. The existing understandings of the New Great Game model explains that China and the US are key players of the New Great Game in Central Asia and that it is associated with
power politics centered round the energy resources of Central Asia. The regional actors like Russia and China are attempting to hold the US out of Central Asia, whilst the US aims for containment to the influencing power of Beijing and Moscow in the region. China has become one of the emergent market economy of the world on the basis of which energy needs of Beijing has been growing day by day to the extent that it has been ranked as 2nd in terms of global consumption of energy. The demand and availability of the supplies of energy is an essential part of China’s priorities in the region of Central Asia. This research aims for analyzing China’s energy interests in Central Asia in the perspective of New Great Game and opines that the involvement of China in Central Asia remains to be advantageous signifying that China’s rise in the region of Central Asia is viewed as a win-win situation not only for China but also for
the Central Asian Republics.