China Seminar | 10 May 2012

China’s Energy Challenge: Regional and Global Implications

Kang Wu

China is the world’s largest energy consuming country. Accompanying this is a fast growing economy, the second largest in the world. Over the coming decades, the rapid expansion of the Chinese economy is expected to continue, leading to bigger energy requirements for the country. Since 2009, China has become a net importer of all three types of fossil energy: oil, gas, and coal. The imports are growing fast. As such, the issue of energy security also looms large. Overall, the challenge is enormous for China to sustain the economic development with sufficient, stable, and clean energy supplies in the future. Key issues related to this challenge and the implications for the Asia-Pacific region and the world at large will be addressed at the briefing. 

Dr. Kang Wu is a Senior Fellow at the East-West Center. He conducts research on energy policies, security, demand, supply, trade, and market developments, as well as energy-economic links, oil and gas issues, and the impact of fossil energy use on the environment with a focus on the Asia-Pacific region. Dr. Wu is an energy expert on China and supervises the China Energy Project at the Center. In 2003, Dr. Wu testified before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission at Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on the impact of China’s energy demand on the rest of the world.