China is launching the privately-funded Greater Bay Area International Energy Transaction Center, a new energy exchange aimed at balancing the playing field in the energy sector among the developing nations. Initial reports said China aims to increase access to developing nations to cheaper energy resources and reduce the nations' reliance from providers in the West and the Middle East.
The Greater Bay Area International Energy Transaction Center will be the point of contact for buyers and sellers, whether they are major or minor players in the energy sector. Participants in the exchange will have access both to suppliers and buyers of crude oil, electricity, liquified natural gas, carbon, ethane, even chemical products.
The new energy exchange will utilize cloud-based blockchain technologies and in the long-term aim to participate in the energy market in the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. The cloud technology will help the exchange analyze energy market data to cement its clout in the industry.
Any discussion centering in energy suppliers tend to highlight the Middle East or the West. Market experts, however, are pointing out that China can compete against these dominant suppliers in the energy market. For one, the Asian powerhouse has a robust energy infrastructure that can break apart chemicals and derivatives. These facilities are all operational, manufacturing and producing domestic energy supplies.
Information isn't clear yet how the Greater Bay Area International Energy Transaction Center will play along with existing energy exchanges. A report from Forbes, however, said that BP and Exxon Mobil are potential investors in this new energy exchange.
While officials of the new energy exchange highlighted that it's the developing nations they are initially catering to, observers were quick to note that China has plans of opening the exchange to global players, even from the West. With this, analysts are guessing that China is, indeed, positioning itself among the big powerhouse in the global energy market.
China's foray into this new energy exchange is happening as it also positions itself as a renewable energy superpower. According to a report from the Global Commission on the Geopolitics of Energy Transformation, the Asian country is currently the world's largest producer and exporter of renewable energy such as solar panels, wind turbines, batteries, and electric vehicles. It bested the U.S. which was ranked fourth.
In 2015, China has also placed itself as the largest market for electric vehicles and is set to maintain the position for the next 20 years. The country accounted for 60% or 876,000 EV's that year compared to 361,000 in the U.S.
