A crisis mentality is starting to pervade not only oil markets but also natural gas markets. Analysts are starting to think the unthinkable: that a potential supply shortage is keeping prices high and that, over the coming two or three years, the world might be heading towards its third oil crisis. The traditions of trade along the Silk Road may be reprised as India and China look to the Middle East for their energy needs. The new relationship the Middle East has with China and India has led to the rebirth of the Silk Road analogy: Chinese silk and Indian spices have been replaced by modern energy investment into the Gulf. Commentators are forecasting that this century will belong to Asia, with China and India at the forefront. The Middle East has started to prioritise energy supply towards Asia and away from the traditional western markets. This coincides with Asia's surging demand for oil, as well as a need to ease carbon emissions resulting from dependence on coal. Chinese companies have sought to establish a presence mostly in countries where US and European companies are absent. The dramatic political situations between China and some countries play an important role in the China’s energy strategy. Geographically they really should make cooperation; they are both against “American hegemony”, they have commendably ameliorated their relationship since years; above all these, the most important are that, Russia is a big provider of energy and China is a big customer. They’re the ideal energy suppliers for China. Middle Eastern oil producers share significant commercial and strategic interests with China; with the rupture of the relationship between USA and the Middle East, and the dramatic improvements between Beijing and Riyadh, China has secured and developed this side of its suppliers. In Central Asia, particularly in Kazakhstan with its multifaceted foreign policy, the EU faces new challenges. Kazakhstan’s close relationship with China is a fait accomplish which has to be accepted if possibilities of altering it are not at hand. However Kazakhstan’s incessant attempts to diversify its energy transportation routes in order to minimize its dependency on Russian pipelines are an encouraging development for the EU’s energy strategy in Central Asia. The main demand for energy in the twenty-first century will come from the East. Geographically much closer to Russian and Central Asian energy reserves than is the United States, the rising Asian countries will have a strong stake in establishing a deep political foothold in and around the Caspian Sea. The ancient Silk Road between Iran and China will likely become an energy road.