China Pays Dearly for Kazakhstan Oil

ALMATY, Kazakhstan

Petrokazakhstan was the largest foreign purchase ever by a Chinese company, in this case a state-owned one. Chinese oil producers were already operating four smaller oil fields in Kazakhstan.

“China is being increasingly dependent on Middle East oil and it wants a supply that would be blockade-proof in case of a conflict over Taiwan,” said Thierry Kellner, a specialist in China’s relations with Central Asia at the Free University of Brussels.

But the Chinese are paying a high price.

NY Times