From the Council on Foreign Relations, via the New York Times:
As global demand for energy continues to rise, major players like the United States, European Union (EU), and Japan are facing a new competitor in the race to secure long-term energy supplies: China. The rapidly growing Asian nation has crafted its foreign policy goals around getting the resources needed to sustain its economic development, and is taking its quest to lock down sources of oil and other necessary raw materials across the globe. With the Middle East mired in long-term instability, China is increasingly turning toward another major oil producer whose risks and challenges have caused it to be overlooked by much of the rest of the world: Africa.
