Securing Reliable Energy for Chinese Modernization: Insights from Xi Jinping’s National Energy Security

Energy security lies at the heart of economic and social development. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the Party Central Committee, with General Secretary Xi Jinping at its core, has elevated energy security to a strategic priority, integrating it with the overarching goals of national development and security. The adoption of a new energy security strategy has driven transformative revolutions in energy consumption, supply, technology, and systems, while fostering robust international cooperation. These efforts have significantly accelerated the development of a modern energy system, strengthened the foundation of energy security, and provided unwavering support for the country’s economic and social progress.

The recently published Energy Security in China, authored by Xi Jinping, brings together 217 excerpts from his key remarks, organized into eight thematic sections. A profound study of these statements is of immense importance for balancing the development of renewable energy and national energy security, advancing the energy revolution, and hastening efforts to build up China’s strength in energy. Ultimately, this work ensures a secure and reliable energy foundation for the pursuit of Chinese modernization.

I. Building up China’s Strength in Energy: The Cornerstone of Economic and Social Development

Energy security is essential to a country’s prosperity, the betterment of people’s livelihoods, and the long-term stability of society. It represents one of the most critical pillars of national security. General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized that energy security is a matter of state-level importance that must never be overlooked. We must always have control over our own energy supply. We must take a strategic perspective on national development and security, assess the situation with foresight, seize opportunities, and chart a course that aligns with the broader trends in energy development. The first three thematic sections of Energy Security in China compile General Secretary Xi’s incisive observations on this subject.

Strengthening Party leadership in energy governance

China has, over decades of development, become the world’s largest producer and consumer of energy. It has developed a comprehensive energy supply system that encompasses coal, electricity, oil, natural gas, new energy, and renewables. Significant progress has been made in energy technology and equipment, living and working energy conditions have improved dramatically, and the nation has established the world’s largest clean energy system.

General Secretary Xi has underscored that safeguarding national energy security, in the face of new supply-demand dynamics and evolving international energy trends, requires a sweeping revolution in energy production and consumption. As China’s national policy for energy development, this approach is encapsulated in the Four Revolutions and One Cooperation. The Four Revolutions entail transformative changes in energy consumption, supply, technology, and systems, while One Cooperation underscores the necessity of fostering comprehensive international collaboration.

Since the 18th National Congress, the Party Central Committee, with General Secretary Xi Jinping at its core, has tackled critical challenges and articulated strategies with far-reaching implications. Major initiatives include the introduction of the new energy security strategy, which champions revolutions in energy consumption, supply, technology, and systems, alongside the promotion of international energy cooperation. They underscore the need to advance the energy revolution, accelerate the building of a strong energy nation, and prioritize the coordinated development of new energy and national energy security to promote the high-quality growth of new energy. These strategic measures have profoundly shaped and will continue to influence China’s economic transformation.

Prioritizing service, facilitation, and protection of the people: securing a safe and stable energy supply for livelihoods

At the heart of Chinese modernization lies an unwavering commitment to the well-being of the people. As General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized, the ultimate goal of all Party and government efforts is to enable the people to lead happier lives. In implementing the central leadership’s directives on ensuring energy security, it is essential to focus on serving the people, addressing their needs, and safeguarding their safety. A comprehensive strategy must be adopted to optimize the balance between energy supply and demand, while enhancing the nation’s capacity to deliver stable and reliable energy. Major enterprises—particularly state-owned ones—must shoulder the responsibility of stabilizing supply and prices, ensuring the steady provision of energy for essential daily needs, and securing the fundamental requirements of people’s livelihoods.

A unified national strategy is indispensable. We must work tirelessly to stabilize the supply and pricing of coal, electricity, oil, and gas, thereby safeguarding the foundational energy needs of the population. Ensuring accessibility and affordability of energy for ordinary citizens is not merely an economic imperative but a cornerstone of social stability, directly tied to the well-being of the people. General Secretary Xi Jinping has underscored the importance of adhering to the principle of safe development, urging Party committees, governments at all levels, and leading officials to place the safety of human lives above all else. Development must never come at the expense of human life—a principle that must be upheld resolutely and unconditionally.

Responsibilities must be clearly defined and effectively implemented. This includes the leadership responsibilities of Party committees and governments at all levels, the regulatory duties of relevant departments, and the primary accountability of enterprises. Beyond routine supervision, rigorous on-site inspections must be conducted, adhering to the “Four No’s and Two Straights” approach—no advance notice, no prior communication, no reports, no accommodations, with direct visits to grassroots sites and operational frontlines. Particular attention must be given to identifying latent hazards in high-risk areas, such as underground oil and gas pipelines. A robust and institutionalized safety inspection mechanism must be established, incorporating unannounced and thorough inspections conducted regularly or at irregular intervals. Accountability must be enforced through a system where inspectors sign and assume full responsibility for their findings. Any issues uncovered during inspections must be rectified with uncompromising diligence, leaving no room for complacency, and eliminating risks to achieve absolute safety.

Energy security is a comprehensive and strategic issue that concerns the economic and social development of a nation. In today’s world, energy issues are a priority area for national security in every country. Securing energy means seizing the key lever of a nation’s development and security strategy. General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized that the importance of energy and the scarcity of energy resources determine that whoever controls energy may control development opportunities and the critical source of wealth creation.

General Secretary Xi often emphasizes the importance of a worst-case scenario mentality, underscoring the need for constant vigilance and crisis awareness in addressing energy issues. He highlights the critical task of balancing development and security, closely monitoring key areas such as energy, enhancing foresight, and improving risk sensitivity to firmly uphold the bottom line of preventing systemic risks. Given China’s severe shortage of per capita energy resources, the country faces greater constraints in energy, resources, and the environment as it accelerates development. This reality dictates that China cannot follow the path of modernization taken by Western countries. General Secretary Xi stresses the importance of self-reliance, calling for solid foundations in essential areas like manufacturing, food security, energy, and strategic material reserves. These foundations, he notes, are where China’s confidence lies. Strengthening them is a prerequisite for catching up with or surpassing others, making this a matter of national significance. It is essential to proceed steadily and methodically. As China’s energy landscape is characterized by abundant coal, limited oil, and scarce natural gas, reinforcing domestic energy production is critical to ensuring national energy security and driving economic and social development.

Actively and prudently advancing China’s goal of achieving carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, while ensuring energy security

On September 22, 2020, at the General Debate of the 75th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, President Xi Jinping announced that China would enhance its nationally determined contributions (NDCs) by adopting stronger policies and measures. The country aims to peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060. He emphasized that achieving carbon peaking and carbon neutrality is a major strategic decision made by the Party Central Committee after careful consideration. It represents both a solemn commitment to the international community and an inherent requirement for promoting economic restructuring, transitioning to green and low-carbon industries, and achieving high-quality development. This is not something imposed by others but something China must do for itself. This goal of achieving carbon peaking and carbon neutrality are unshakable, but the pathways, methods, pace, and intensity of achieving this goal must be determined by China itself, free from external interference.

President Xi noted that achieving this goal is a complex and long-term undertaking—a systematic engineering task that cannot be accomplished overnight or divorced from reality. Efforts must align with China’s energy resource endowment and adhere to the principle of establishing new systems before dismantling old ones, implementing carbon peaking actions in a planned and phased manner. Key measures include improving the regulation of total energy consumption and energy intensity, focusing on controlling fossil energy consumption, and gradually transitioning to dual control over total carbon emissions and carbon intensity. China must promote the clean, low-carbon, and efficient use of energy, while advancing clean and low-carbon transitions in industries such as manufacturing, construction, and transportation.

Deepening the energy revolution is essential. This includes promoting the clean and efficient use of coal, intensifying oil and gas exploration, increasing reserves and production, and accelerating the planning and construction of a new energy system. Additionally, efforts must coordinate hydropower development with ecological protection, promote the safe and orderly development of nuclear power, and strengthen the energy production, supply, storage, and distribution systems to ensure energy security.

II. Establishing a Multi-Faceted Energy Supply System with a Focus on Conservation

The transformation of energy production and consumption serves as a cornerstone for the promotion of an ecological civilization. General Secretary Xi Jinping has underscored the necessity of advancing this transformation with greater efficacy, rooted in the principle of prioritizing energy conservation while ensuring national energy security through diversified domestic energy supplies. The fourth and fifth sections of Energy Security in China encapsulate General Secretary Xi’s profound insights on this subject.

Accelerating the transition from the “dual control” of energy consumption to the “dual control” of carbon emissions to embrace green and low-carbon development

 With a population of 1.4 billion and the ambition of achieving comprehensive socialist modernization, China cannot afford to replicate the high-energy consumption, high-emission development trajectories once pursued by industrialized nations. Instead, a decisive shift toward a green and low-carbon development path is not only a strategic necessity but also an inevitable step toward realizing China’s modernization goals. Unchecked energy consumption would deplete China’s resources, devastate its environment, and impose an unsustainable burden on global ecosystems.

Thus, it is imperative to accelerate the green transformation of our development model and champion a system of green, circular, and low-carbon development with unyielding determination. As General Secretary Xi Jinping has highlighted, fostering a revolution in energy consumption and curbing irrational energy use begin with stringent controls over total energy consumption. Energy conservation must remain a top priority. By imposing such controls, we establish mechanisms that compel greater energy efficiency and promote the intensive and judicious use of resources. When energy consumption per unit of output decreases, the same amount of energy can fuel a larger economic scale, thereby improving both the quality and efficiency of economic growth. Hence, controlling total energy consumption is not merely an operational task—it is a fundamental strategy.

We must rigorously implement “dual control” measures for energy consumption, balancing the management of total energy consumption with the intensity of energy use per unit of GDP. Efforts to reduce carbon emissions, curb pollution, expand green spaces, and stimulate economic growth must advance in unison, creating the necessary conditions for transitioning from the “dual control” of energy consumption to the “dual control” of carbon emissions, with enforceable and measurable constraints. Green, circular, and low-carbon development is the driving force behind the current technological revolution and industrial transformation. As one of the most promising areas for future growth, it offers significant potential for China to cultivate numerous new engines of economic development. General Secretary Xi Jinping has repeatedly emphasized that green development forms the bedrock of high-quality growth, and that new quality productive forces are intrinsically green in nature. Adhering to this path is essential for sustainable progress. Achieving low-carbon economic growth and green development presents formidable challenges that require bold and innovative solutions. To succeed, we must not only foster the expansion of emerging industries but also optimize and transform traditional sectors. The expansion of new industries hinges on the integration of advanced technologies—such as the Internet, big data, artificial intelligence, and fifth-generation mobile communications (5G)—with green and low-carbon industries. This integration will facilitate the establishment of green manufacturing and service systems, bolstering the share of green industries within the broader economy.

Simultaneously, the optimization of traditional industries demands substantial efforts to upgrade and transform sectors such as steel, non-ferrous metals, petrochemicals, chemicals, and building materials. This includes accelerating the adoption of low-carbon processes, enhancing energy efficiency, and driving digital transformation across the industrial landscape.

Embedding energy conservation in all aspects of society and accelerating the establishment of an energy-proficient society

As ancient wisdom reminds us: “If resources are used with restraint and moderation, there will be abundance; if taken without limits, scarcity will follow.” Globally, energy conservation is often heralded as the “fifth energy source,” considered more vital than coal, oil, natural gas, or even non-fossil fuels. Given China’s energy resource conditions, the transition from inefficient and wasteful energy practices to an intensive and efficient energy utilization model is both urgent and essential.

General Secretary Xi Jinping has called for placing conservation at the forefront by enacting a comprehensive energy conservation strategy and promoting conservation efforts across all sectors. In production, this entails advancing the circular, intensive, and efficient use of resources, reducing energy and material consumption per unit of output, accelerating technological upgrades in manufacturing, and enhancing input-output efficiency. It also requires a steadfast commitment to adjusting the industrial structure by addressing overcapacity while vigorously developing advanced manufacturing, high-tech industries, and low-energy-consuming service sectors.

In the realm of consumption, public awareness of energy conservation must be heightened. A simple, moderate, green, and low-carbon lifestyle should be actively encouraged through initiatives such as establishing green offices, families, communities, and transportation systems. The energy consumption revolution must become a collective endeavor, embraced not only by governments, industries, and enterprises but also by society at large. By instilling a mindset of frugality, we can foster a culture that values conservation, intensive use, and recycling of resources. Crucially, we must cultivate the understanding that saving energy translates to increasing resources, reducing pollution, and advancing the well-being of humanity. Through these efforts, we can nurture a societal ethos of prudence and sustainability.

General Secretary Xi Jinping has underscored that while industrialization presently harbors the greatest potential for energy conservation, the future lies in the vast opportunities offered by urbanization. It is imperative, therefore, to prioritize energy-saving measures throughout the urbanization process, adhering closely to the principles of ecological civilization. From a macro perspective, this calls for the promotion of rational urban planning, while on a micro level, it necessitates optimizing urban forms to foster the emergence of compact, eco-friendly cities. Such efforts encompass raising energy efficiency standards for buildings and vehicles, while granting precedence to the development of public transportation systems. Over the years, sustained efforts have yielded transformative progress in China’s energy consumption structure, positioning the nation as the world’s foremost user of new and renewable energy. The intensity of resource consumption has markedly declined, reflecting the country’s strides toward a more sustainable future.

Ensuring the stability, security, and sustainability of energy supply and accelerating the construction of a modern energy system

What constitutes a safe and sustainable energy framework for China? How can we achieve a nuanced balance between traditional and emerging energy sources, orchestrating their orderly evolution while steadily enhancing energy self-sufficiency, supply stability, and overall security? These are critical challenges that demand careful deliberation. The path forward requires aligning with global energy trends, grounding strategies in China’s national realities, and adhering to the principle of establishing new systems before dismantling old ones. Accelerating the planning and establishment of a modern energy system entails integrating traditional and new energy sources in complementary and synergistic ways, thereby safeguarding the nation’s energy security and fostering its sustainable development.

General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized the necessity of advancing a revolution in energy supply and establishing a diversified, resilient energy system. This vision calls for prioritizing domestic energy production to ensure security, promoting the clean and efficient utilization of coal, and vigorously developing non-coal energy sources. The ultimate objective is to create a multifaceted energy supply system encompassing coal, oil, gas, nuclear energy, new energy, and renewable energy. Simultaneously, efforts must be intensified to strengthen the infrastructure for energy transmission, distribution, and storage. Balancing development with security is paramount. This involves enhancing the capacity to protect critical energy resources, securing coal and other fossil fuels as a last-resort safeguard, and clearly delineating the strategic baseline for domestic production and self-reliance in essential energy resources. State-owned enterprises are expected to play a foundational role in this endeavor, accelerating the development and deployment of advanced extraction technologies for oil, gas, and other resources while fortifying national strategic reserves to guarantee a reliable safety net in critical times.

Nevertheless, China’s energy development faces formidable challenges. Mounting demand pressures, constrained supply capacities, and the arduous task of transitioning to a green, low-carbon economy present significant obstacles. The solution lies in vigorously advancing the development of new energy sources. China, endowed with abundant wind and solar resources, possesses immense potential for harnessing renewable energy. General Secretary Xi Jinping has repeatedly stressed that the development of clean energy is a pivotal task for optimizing the energy structure, ensuring energy security, and advancing ecological civilization. Accelerating the construction of a clean, low-carbon, safe, and efficient energy system lies at the very heart of China’s energy revolution.

Greater emphasis must be placed on the systematic development of new and clean energy sources, advancing the orderly progress of solar, silicon, hydrogen, and renewable energy industries. Efforts should be intensified to scale up and enhance the efficiency of wind, solar, biomass, geothermal, marine, and hydrogen energy development, while ensuring that hydropower development is balanced with ecological preservation. A complementary and integrated approach to wind, solar, and hydropower development must be pursued. Furthermore, the active and orderly expansion of nuclear energy under stringent safety conditions should be encouraged. Through persistent innovation and unrelenting efforts, China has achieved global leadership in several new energy technologies and equipment manufacturing sectors, establishing the world’s largest clean electricity supply system. Chinese products such as new energy vehicles, lithium batteries, and photovoltaic components have demonstrated remarkable competitiveness in international markets. These accomplishments have laid a robust foundation for China’s energy transition, positioning the nation as a pivotal force in global energy transformation and climate change mitigation.

III. Driving the Energy Technology Revolution and Deepening Energy Structural Reform

Education, science, and talent are the foundational and strategic pillars of building a modern socialist nation. Critical sectors such as water resources, energy, and agriculture hinge upon technological advancement. General Secretary Xi Jinping has articulated the transformative power of energy technology innovation, urging China to remain at the forefront of the global energy technology revolution. This entails extending industrial chains, improving the comprehensive utilization of energy resources, and effectively advancing a modern energy economy.

The sixth and seventh sections of Energy Security in China provide a full account of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s insights on this vital issue.

Addressing critical energy sectors, fulfilling the nation’s paramount needs, and hastening breakthroughs in key and core technologies

The essential tools of a great nation must always remain firmly within its own grasp, unmarred by external dependence. Scientific and technological innovation must be guided by a problem-driven approach, targeting the most urgent and pressing challenges. Anchored in the nation’s immediate priorities and long-term aspirations, we must exert every effort to overcome barriers in core technologies. As General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized, critical and fundamental technologies cannot be begged for or borrowed; they must be attained through self-reliance and unyielding perseverance.

When determining priorities for the development and application of energy technologies, we must adopt a comprehensive perspective, considering factors such as resource endowments, technological foundations, environmental capacity, economic feasibility, and opportunities for international collaboration. Adhering to the “three-tiered pathway,” we must accelerate the energy technology revolution:

1.          Promote and apply mature technologies: Technologies that are well-developed, in demand, market-ready, and cost-effective should be swiftly industrialized to enhance current energy production and application capabilities.

2.          Pilot and demonstrate emerging technologies: For technologies with an established technical foundation but undefined processes, as well as those whose economic viability and market acceptance remain uncertain, pilot programs should be initiated. These trials will help standardize and scale up production, paving the way for broader adoption.

3.          Concentrate resources on breakthrough technologies: Particular attention must be devoted to technologies with promising potential but whose core components are still reliant on external sources. These require focused efforts and the concentration of resources to achieve independence and innovation.

As General Secretary Xi Jinping has further stressed, strengthening scientific and technological innovation is our most urgent imperative. We must accelerate the iterative development of critical technologies and core products while imbuing emerging technologies with intelligence. This will fortify our national energy security and advance self-sufficiency. A greater emphasis must be placed on original, pioneering research to ensure that the capacity to manufacture vital equipment remains firmly under our control. By leveraging domestically developed tools, we can independently extract oil and gas resources, thereby enhancing energy self-reliance.

Simultaneously, vigorous efforts must be directed toward the advancement of green and low-carbon technologies. Priorities include the intelligent and environmentally sustainable development of fossil fuel resources, the large-scale deployment of renewable energy systems, energy storage technologies, and carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS). We must expedite the research, development, and application of advanced and practical solutions, while also accelerating the transformation of innovative achievements into tangible outcomes. Reforming talent cultivation models is essential; universities must be encouraged to rapidly develop relevant disciplines, ensuring a steady stream of expertise to support China’s green and low-carbon transformation.

Fostering energy technologies and their associated industries as new engines for growth, driving the optimization and upgrading of China’s industrial structure. In today’s world, a new technological revolution and global industrial transformation are emerging, with breakthroughs in emerging technologies catalyzing industrial change and profoundly altering the global economic framework and competitive order. It is imperative to deeply understand and anticipate these transformative trends in energy technologies, advancing the energy technology revolution with purpose and resolve.

As General Secretary Xi Jinping has underscored, spearheading the energy technology revolution to drive industrial upgrading necessitates a sharp focus on China’s unique circumstances while remaining closely aligned with global energy technology trends. We must adopt green and low-carbon development as our guiding principle, fostering innovation in technology, industry, and business models in a targeted and systematic manner. This approach requires the integration of cutting-edge advancements from other domains. With scientific and technological innovation as our vanguard, we must accelerate the research, development, and application of frontier technologies in renewable energy and green, low-carbon solutions. At the same time, traditional industries must undergo swift transformation and upgrading, becoming more sophisticated, intelligent, and environmentally friendly, while strategic emerging industries are cultivated and specialized, innovative enterprises are supported. By actively promoting the digital economy and modern service industries, we can build a modern industrial system characterized by intelligence, sustainability, and integration—one that meets the highest standards of integrity, advancement, and security. In doing so, we will strengthen and elevate the modern energy industrial cluster.

National energy and strategic resource bases must harness their unique strengths and strategic positioning to develop distinctive, advantageous industries. This entails exploring innovative pathways for the transformation of resource-based regions, strengthening the protective development, high-quality utilization, and standardized management of strategic resources. By advancing the local deep processing of energy resources, we can ensure the full realization of these industries’ potential.

As General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized, strategic emerging industries represent the new pillars and frontiers of future growth. Thus, we must orient ourselves toward the global vanguard of energy science and technology, focusing on critical areas and addressing the nation’s most pressing demands in the energy sector. By carefully selecting technological pathways and leveraging the strengths of the system of concentrating national resources to accomplish major undertakings, we can foster collaboration to address core technological challenges. Strengthening the transformation and application of scientific research achievements will enable us to cultivate energy technologies and their related industries as dynamic engines of industrial upgrading, propelling the rise of new quality productive forces.

Deepening energy structural reform, fostering synergy between a well-functioning market with a competent government, and paving the way for accelerated energy development

Promoting a revolution in the energy system demands making sure that the market plays the decisive role in allocating resources and that the government plays a better role. As General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized, reforms must remain steadfast to restore the commodity nature of energy, establish a competitive market structure and system, and develop mechanisms where energy prices are primarily determined by market forces. Simultaneously, the government’s regulatory role in energy must be transformed, and a robust legal framework for the energy sector must be established.

Competitive business sectors must be opened, and resources such as carbon emission rights, energy usage rights, water usage rights, and pollution discharge rights should be integrated into the broader reform of market-based factor allocation. Market transactions—including transfers, sales, mortgages, and equity participation—should be encouraged. The reform of the electricity system must be deepened to optimize the overall design of the electricity market, accelerating the construction of a flexible and intelligent electricity system that is clean, low-carbon, safe, reliable, efficient, and harmonized in supply and demand. Similarly, the oil and gas sector requires substantial reform focused on enhancing national oil and gas security capabilities. Key systemic challenges within the upstream, midstream, and downstream segments of the oil and gas industry must be addressed both proactively and prudently. This includes improving the strategic petroleum reserve system, completing the interconnection of national natural gas pipeline networks within a designated timeframe, and accelerating the development of a unified national natural gas grid.

The rule of law must be strengthened. Comprehensive efforts should be made to draft and amend laws in areas such as ecological protection, resource management, and energy governance, ensuring that sound legislation provides the foundation for effective governance. General Secretary Xi Jinping has highlighted the need to balance new energy development with national energy security imperatives. Planning and top-level design must lead the way, coordinating the relationships between new and traditional energy, national and local interests, government and market roles, as well as energy development and conservation. High-quality development of new energy should be promoted. Efforts should be made to enhance green and low-carbon policies and market frameworks, expanding the carbon emissions trading market, actively supporting the research, development, investment, and promotion of clean energy, and effectively managing risks during the construction of a new energy system and the transformation of energy enterprises. These initiatives are crucial for strengthening national energy security and achieving the goals of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality.

IV. Strengthening Global Energy Cooperation for the Benefit of All Humanity

Energy security is one of the most pressing challenges in global development, directly affecting the shared interests of the international community and the future of our planet. General Secretary Xi Jinping has called for comprehensive international cooperation to ensure energy security through openness. This includes strengthening collaboration across all aspects of the energy production and consumption revolution while prioritizing domestic energy needs. Section Eight of Energy Security in China highlights General Secretary Xi Jinping’s profound insights on this issue.

Building partnerships for energy cooperation to achieve global energy security

China, in collaboration with relevant partner countries, has initiated the Initiative for International Cooperation on Resilient and Stable Industrial and Supply Chains and has worked with several countries to advocate for the establishment of a Global Clean Energy Partnership. Energy cooperation has also become a cornerstone of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). As General Secretary Xi Jinping noted during his keynote address at the Third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in October 2023, the construction of hydropower stations, wind farms, photovoltaic plants, oil and gas pipelines, and increasingly intelligent power grids has transformed energy scarcity from a developmental bottleneck into an opportunity for growth. These projects have illuminated the green, low-carbon aspirations of developing countries, creating oases and lighthouses of sustainable development in this New Era.

General Secretary Xi has noted that China stands ready to work with countries under the framework of the BRI to foster energy cooperation and create favorable conditions for shared development. Together, we can promote global sustainable energy development and ensure worldwide energy security. Dual advancements in oil and gas cooperation and low-carbon energy collaboration must be actively pursued. The “oil and gas+” cooperation model should be further developed, deepening collaboration across the entire value chain, including exploration, extraction, refining, storage, and transportation. In response to the ongoing global energy revolution and the flourishing green, low-carbon industries, partnerships should be strengthened in the peaceful utilization of nuclear energy, solar power, wind energy, and hydropower. Collaboration in clean and low-carbon energy technologies, as well as the localized production of new energy equipment, should also be intensified. Joint efforts to develop energy technology standards and conduct research and development will help create a multidimensional framework for energy cooperation.

General Secretary Xi has emphasized the importance of enhancing energy policy communication among nations and implementing concrete measures to ensure the security of cross-border oil and gas pipelines. These pipelines should serve as pathways of peace, green development, economic growth, and international friendship. Ensuring the safe and reliable construction and operation of these pipelines is paramount, as they support the sustainable economic and social development of regions along their routes. Recognizing that maritime channels are vital to China’s foreign trade and energy imports, China will strengthen communication and cooperation with relevant countries to safeguard freedom of navigation and ensure the security of maritime corridors. Together, we aspire to build a maritime order defined by peace, stability, cooperation, and mutual benefit.

Promoting the establishment of a global energy governance system that is fair, equitable, balanced, and inclusive to advance sustainable energy development across the world

In this era, green, low-carbon, and circular development have emerged as a shared vision for humanity. General Secretary Xi Jinping has called for the reinforcement of global energy governance cooperation, advocating the steadfast promotion of multilateralism, active participation in multilateral collaboration, and the assumption of a constructive role within the global energy governance framework. Such efforts aim to infuse global energy development with greater positive energy. From the strategic vantage point of enhancing global economic governance, it is essential to cultivate energy partnerships, foster a global energy market that is open, competitive, orderly, and effectively regulated, and collectively safeguard the stability of energy prices and markets. Prioritizing energy efficiency, while formulating and refining principles for global energy governance, is crucial. This approach should aim to establish a new framework of collaboration based on equal consultation and shared progress among energy-producing, consuming, and transit nations.

Equally important is the formulation and application of international standards in relevant fields, alongside strengthening international cooperation in standardization. We must strengthen the international nuclear security system by adhering to a rational, coordinated, and forward-looking approach to nuclear security. With an open and inclusive mindset, we should work together to build a community of shared future for nuclear security. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized that the green and low-carbon transition is a systemic undertaking that requires comprehensive planning and coordinated progress. It is essential to promote orderly cooperation across the new energy industry chain and establish a new win-win model for green and low-carbon energy transitions, thereby advancing global energy transformation.

We must accurately understand the concept of sustainable development, remain people-centered, and strike a balance between economic growth, livelihood protection, energy conservation, and emission reduction. By aligning with the overarching trends of contemporary technological and industrial revolutions, we can seize the significant opportunities brought by the green transition. This will allow us to drive green transformation within economic development and achieve greater progress through sustainable and environmentally friendly growth.

Contributing China’s wisdom and strength to global energy security and the energy transition

Climate change and energy challenges rank among the most pressing global issues of our time, with low-carbon energy development holding the key to humanity’s future. China has made remarkable strides in resource conservation, significantly reducing resource consumption intensity and emerging as a global leader in energy conservation, renewable energy utilization, and new energy development. General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized that China attaches great importance to low-carbon energy development and is ready to work hand-in-hand with the international community to comprehensively strengthen energy cooperation, safeguard energy security, address climate change, protect the ecological environment, and promote sustainable development for the benefit of all peoples.

Adhering to the path of green, low-carbon, and sustainable development, China has made vigorous strides in advancing clean energy, optimizing industrial structures, building a low-carbon energy system, promoting green architecture and low-carbon transportation, and establishing a national carbon emissions trading market. These efforts have significantly contributed to global energy security. Furthermore, China actively supports the green and low-carbon energy development of developing nations and has ceased the construction of new overseas coal-fired power projects. China’s new energy industries, refined through competition within an open market, represent cutting-edge production capacity. These industries not only enrich global supply chains and alleviate inflationary pressures but also make a substantial contribution to combating climate change and advancing the global green transition.

General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized the importance of leveraging both domestic and international markets and resources in a mutually beneficial manner. Strengthening energy and resource cooperation with relevant nations, while effectively managing the risks of overseas investments, is essential to building partnerships that yield mutual benefits. By achieving China’s own development while contributing to the progress of other countries and peoples, these efforts aim to promote balanced global development and contribute to the creation of a clean, beautiful world, ultimately advancing the vision of a human community with a shared future.

The profound reflections of General Secretary Xi Jinping on national energy security form an integral part of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. These insights are visionary, deeply meaningful, and rich with strategic foresight. In studying and implementing the principles outlined in Energy Security in China, it is incumbent upon us to thoroughly internalize the guiding principles from the 20th CPC National Congress and the Second and Third Plenary Sessions of the 20th Central Committee. It is vital to fully grasp the decisive significance of the Two Affirmations, strengthen the Four Consciousnesses, fortify the Four-Sphere Confidence, and ensure the Two Upholds. By seizing opportunities and maintaining momentum, we will intensify efforts to propel high-quality development in China’s new energy sector, contributing to safeguarding energy and resource security while building a modern socialist country in all respects.