China energy blueprint pushes independence as ‘opportunities’ with Russia grow
- The 14th five-year plan says China is in a ‘critical stage’ of ensuring energy security as new and old risks become ‘intertwined’
- Though the blueprint stresses independence and import diversification, energy cooperation with Russia is tipped to grow
The country is in a “critical stage” of ensuring energy security as new and old risks become “intertwined”, according to the 14th five-year plan for 2021-25 that was published on Tuesday.
The plan said China must supply more of its own energy needs by 2025, while advocating for larger domestic oil and gas production and clean energy cooperation with other countries, including the United States.
The new energy directive is more sophisticated than those in previous years, taking into account both low-carbon development and energy security, said Lin Boqiang, dean of the China Institute for Studies in Energy Policy at Xiamen University.
Not only the Russia-Ukraine conflict, but also the power shortages last year woke China up
“In the process of energy transformation, China is still a developing country and its energy demand will continue to grow.”
Policymakers set a target for annual crude oil output to top 200 million tonnes in 2022, a moderate increase of 0.5 per cent from last year. Since domestic production fell below 200 million tonnes in 2016, China has struggled to return above the threshold.