China Emerging as a Game Changer in Contention for Global Energy Governance

China's rise as a global power features its unyielding contention with the West for domination in the world system. Such contention manifests itself conspicuously in the control of global energy governance as China has a more urgent need to secure its energy supply to sustain its economic growth. Viewed in a historical perspective, in the arena of global energy politics and markets, China has incrementally evolved through the stages of development from starting as a passive rule-conformist to later becoming an assertive challenger and ultimately a game changer. The year 2008 was seemingly a turning point for the rise of “China Inc.” as the financial crisis that swept across the West provided an unprecedented opportunity for China to march into the resource-rich regions of the world without encountering much resistance from its contenders. What is worth noting is that China's market expansion was spearheaded by its unique state-owned energy corporations that carried out business strategies almost unrivaled by its western counterparts. China's intention to change the rules of the game in global energy governance can also be seen in its ongoing efforts to construct an alternative normative structure and institutional means to undermine the Western dominion.