China's Energy Mix

To realize China’s modernization of economy,two approaches are indispensable—further industrialization and urbanization.But neither can we get to without sufficient energy supply.The problem is how we will deal with the increasing demand for energy. Nearly 70% of China’s primary energy is derived from its vast coal reserves—the second in the world.But coal is an aggressive pol- lutant,and one of the main sources of greenhouse gases.What’s more, most of China’s coal mines are far from the centers of economic activi- ties,thus creating problematic transportation bottlenecks.Gas,which is much cleaner,is in limited supply and faces similar geographical challenges,requiring costly pipeline infrastructure.The spectacular car boom has made China the second largest consumer of oil in the world (after the U.S.).This has put considerable pressure on energy supplies,and with imports from such countries as Saudi Arabia,the geopolitical tensions are not negligible. By Editor