White paper: Nation to promote BRI energy partnership

The Belt & Road Brand Expo in Shanghai, June 30, 2018. [Photo/IC] 

China will promote global energy development cooperation with economies involved in the Belt and Road Initiative and participate deeply in the world's energy industry transition, a top energy official said on Monday.

"We will actively push forward partnership with countries and regions involved in the initiative and form a 'chorus' in energy development," said Zhang Jianhua, director of the National Energy Administration.

Cooperation will be carried out in fields including nuclear, wind and solar power and smart grid and power connectivity, he added.

Zhang made the remarks after a white paper titled "Energy in China's New Era" was released by the State Council Information Office.

The country has been advancing pragmatic and mutually beneficial energy cooperation, improving energy infrastructure connectivity and facilitating wider global energy access, according to the white paper.

China has produced substantial achievements under the framework of the Belt and Road, having implemented a group of major energy projects, Zhang said.

In 2019, China established Belt and Road energy partnerships with 30 countries, the white paper said.

According to Luo Zuoxian, head of the intelligence research department of the Sinopec Economics and Development Research Institute, energy demand from countries and regions participating in the Belt and Road is still on the rise, and the development of the energy industry is the major economic growth point for the regions.

Energy cooperation with the regions and areas has broad prospects, Luo said.

As the world's largest renewable energy market and the largest clean energy equipment manufacturer, China is actively working toward green and low-carbon global energy transition by engaging in extensive cooperation in the renewable energy sector.

According to the document, the country's coal consumption accounted for 57.7 percent of its total energy consumption in 2019, 10.8 percentage points lower than that in 2012. Consumption of natural gas, hydropower, nuclear power and wind power in 2019 accounted for 23.4 percent of the country's total energy consumption, 8.9 percentage points higher than that in 2012.

Consumption of nonfossil fuels accounted for 15.3 percent of total energy consumption last year, 5.6 percentage points higher than 2012 and surpassing the 15 percent goal set for 2020, it said.

China will continuously improve its energy efficiency and diversify its energy mix to achieve the 2030 target, said Zhang.

China vows to boost its share of nonfossil fuels in primary energy consumption to around 25 percent and increase the installed capacity of wind and solar power to more than 1,200 gigawatts by 2030. It also aims to lower its carbon dioxide emissions per unit of gross domestic product by over 65 percent from the 2005 level.

Zhang said that future development of renewables including wind and solar power in China will not need State subsidies but will be primarily driven by the market, thanks to sharply falling costs from technological advances.

What needs to be tackled is how to best utilize the new energies, he said.