As China is dependent on oil and gas imports to maintain its high growth rates, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and Central Asia have become increasingly important for the country's economic development. In May 2014, China and Russia signed a new gas deal, for example, and in recent...

This book addresses Russia's new assertiveness and the role of energy as a key factor in shaping the country's behavior in international relations and in building political and economic power domestically since the 1990s