Research Reports on Building BRI Energy Partnerships were released by RUC

On March 25, Building the “Belt and Road” Energy Partnership: Research Reports Release Conference was held at Renmin University of China (RUC). The conference was co-hosted by The Center for International Energy and Environment Strategy Studies (CIEESS) and Center for Energy and Resource Strategic Studies, and supported by School of International Studies and National Academy of Development and Strategy (NADS), RUC.

Xu Qinhua, Professor of School of International Studies, Deputy Dean of NADS and Director of CIEESS, moderated the conference. Experts from RUC, Columbia University, Nagoya University, National Center for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation (NCSC), China National Petroleum Corporation, Petroleum Industry Press and Social Science Academic Press of China made comments.

Five research reports were released at the conference, including China Energy International Cooperation Report 2017/2018, Political Risk Assessment Report of the “Belt and Road” Energy Investment 2019, Global Competitiveness Report of Energy Enterprises 2018, The “Belt and Road” Green Development Case Studies and Global Energy News Index 2017.

China Energy International Cooperation Report 2017/2018, compiled by CIEESS, published by China Renmin University Press, is the latest of nine report series. With the theme of “new pattern and new development of China energy cooperation”, the report analyzes the progress China has made in the global energy industry. The study finds that international energy cooperation focuses primarily on fossil energy, secondarily on clean and low-carbon energy, with SOE enterprises as the main driving force behind the cooperation while private enterprises as a supplement. International cooperation carries out in various industries like energy trade, energy development and equipment manufacture, and engineering, financed by both business capital as well as Chinese business and equity capital. Meanwhile, China’s energy cooperation plan is closely linked to the BRI projects.

China has made breakthroughs in LNG and renewable energy industries and reached out to the Middle East and Russia. Chinese energy enterprises master green technologies, a great competitive advantage that will help China get more involved in global energy governance. The report also stresses the role of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization could play in promoting Chinese energy international cooperation. Combined with the BRI, SCO taking advantage of its near mature multilateral mechanism could build a trans-regional energy cooperation network.

Political Risk Assessment Report of the “Belt and Road” Energy Investment 2019, compiled by Center for Energy and Resource Strategic Studies, NADS, is the latest of the four report series. The report assessed the risks of BRI energy investment from six dimensions: the economic base, social risk, political risk, China-related factors, energy factor, and environmental risk. The result shows that in 2019, 3 countries (Singapore, UAE, Brunei) are with the lowest political risk in terms of energy investment, 20 with lower risk, 30 with medium risk, 7 with higher risk, and 4 (Yemen, Syria, Palestine, and Afghanistan) with the highest risk. Compared with the assessment in 2018, there is a decline in the number of countries with higher and the highest political risk, and an increase in countries with lower and the lowest political risk. Regionally speaking, investment risk in Middle/Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia is low, in the Post-soviet region, South Asia, West Asia, and North Africa is relatively high.

Global Competitiveness Report of Energy Enterprises 2018, compiled by CIEESS, the second of the series, will be first published by Social Science Academic Press of China with the title of the Bluebook of Energy Enterprises’ Global Competitiveness. The report evaluated the competitive power of global energy enterprises from five dimensions: the scale, efficiency, growth, security, and R&D, presenting seven rank lists including Top 500 Global Energy Enterprises, Top 30 Coal Enterprises, Top 100 Oil and Natural Gas Enterprises, Top 100 Power Enterprises, Top 100 Renewable Energy Enterprises, Top 20 Energy Equipment Manufacturer and Service Enterprises, and Top 100 Chinese Energy Enterprises.

Among the top 500, 127 energy companies are from the United States, 104 from China including Hong Kong and Taiwan, 34 from Japan. Compared with the list of 2017, American enterprises are 4 less, while 3 Chinese and 2 Japanese companies move up the ladder. Among the top 100 Chinese enterprises, power, oil and natural gas, and coal companies are the leading players with a number of 35, 28, and 22 in respective.

The “Belt and Road” Green Development Case Studies Report is compiled by NADS BRI Research Center based on the study of BRI green development index. The Center, cooperated with Center on Global Energy Policy, Columbia University, wrote the Case Studies of BRI Green Development Projects, covering six typical projects China has worked with BRI countries in the fields of energy and sustainable development: China-Pakistan Economic Corridor energy cooperation, Micro-grid project connecting 27 isles in Maldives, the role of Chinese private enterprises in cotton global value chain, water-supply plan of East Bay in Manila, Philippines, Chinese electric power investment in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, and China-Southeast Asia solar power cooperation.

Global Energy News Index 2017, the second in a row, is compiled by the CIEESS. The book selected and summarized the news and articles from well-known and authoritative media, industrial media, and influential institutions so that policymakers, scholars and the public interested in the energy development can acquire the information more conveniently. The book as a high-quality academic product will be published by Petroleum Industry Press, serving the government, business community, and the public.