From Business Week (link):
China’s growing appetite for energy has caused widespread concern in the West. The Middle Kingdom is blamed for the sharp increase in global oil prices in the past few years. Meanwhile, the U.S. is uneasy about Beijing’s cozy relations with major oil producers such as Iran, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Venezuela — some of which are hostile toward Washington. Some strategists think China’s vast energy needs could eventually be a security threat in a world of diminishing resources.
That kind of talk creates plenty of resentment within the top echelons of Chinese President Hu Jintao’s government. For one thing, China is paying a huge energy bill for a still-developing economy, a point not always recognized in the West.