Energy cooperation in the Belt and Road Initiative: EU experience of the Trans-European Networks for Energy

This paper examines energy cooperation within the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with reference to the European Union’s experience of the Trans-European Network for Energy (TEN-E) in addressing various policy challenges, including market competitiveness, climate change and the security of supply through energy infrastructure networks. As a development framework with strong geo-political and geo-economical dimensions, the BRI aims to promote interconnectivity and cooperation in infrastructure, policy, trade, finance and culture among Eurasian countries. The implementation of the BRI is expected to involve numerous investments as well as infrastructure construction and industrial integration in the energy sector. The EU experience in creating an energy network has indicated a clear synergy between infrastructure networks and the market. In the 1990s, TEN-E was developed to create an integrated energy market, reinforce economic and social cohesion, and connect peripheral regions. Through an analysis of the EU experience, this paper argues that the BRI foresees turning China’s energy cooperation in Eurasia into an integrated and multilateral strategy. While energy infrastructure networks could contribute to achieving the BRI’s objectives, possible obstacles exist in the creation of those networks in the BRI, including asymmetric policy priorities, financing challenges and the lack of a multilateral legal framework.