How does China's Thirst for Oil and Gas Impact on the EU's Energy Policies? The Africa and Central Asia Test Cases

The rise in Asian countries’demand and consumption of energy has resulted in an almost parallel growth of their political and financial efforts to  secure the imports to fulfill their domestic needs. China in particular – which  in  2010 became  the  world's  largest energy consumer –  has made impressive investments in the oil and  gas sectors of Africa and Central Asia, also engaging these  areas  with its increasingly active and effective diplomacy . China’s pervasive presence and its capacity to become firmly ent rench ed in the energy sector appears to undermine the European efforts to gain an advantageous energy supply diversification. It is therefore necessary to get a clearer picture of China’s presence in Africa and Central Asia, assessing the repercussions and  the potential threats of this new set of conditions for the energy security of the EU.