Launched in 2019 the OIES China Energy Research Programme, is a center of analytical excellence offering insights into the factors that inform China’s energy policies and choices and their pivotal role in global energy markets.
China is the world’s second largest economy, biggest importer of crude oil, the fastest growing consumer of natural gas as well as the world’s top coal producer and emitter of CO2. The country is endowed with vast reserves of oil, gas and coal all of which it aims to develop in order to enhance its energy security, but, it is also seeking to spearhead a technological revolution in support of its energy transition.
In light of its voracious appetite for energy, its domestic resource potential and its technological ambitions, the way in which China chooses to develop its domestic resource base, consume energy and engage with global markets is of extreme importance to producers, consumers and traders of energy. But the country’s command economy, alongside the dominance of state-owned companies still inform policy design and implementation and are key to understanding the evolution of China’s energy mix and markets.
The China Energy Programme at OIES delves into these developments and offers insights into the factors that inform China’s energy policies and choices.
The Programme is grateful to its Sponsors for their support, without which its research would not be possible.
Research is carried out by the programme staff in close coordination with the other OIES programmes and in collaboration with leading researchers and institutes in China and the West. Research will be disseminated via a dedicated research paper series, energy comments, sponsors’ visits, and specialised events.
For information about the programme and questions, please email: Michal Meidan
In this latest podcast from the China programme, Michal Meidan talks to Kevin Tu about the outlook for China’s coal chemicals industry in an increasingly carbon constrained world. Drawing on Kevin’s paper ‘Prospects of the Chinese coal chemical industry in an increasingly carbon-constrained world’, they discuss the political and economic importance of the sector in […]
In this podcast from the China Energy Programme, OIES China Programme Director Michal Meidan and OIES Senior Research Fellow Anders Hove discuss the takeaways from China’s Two Sessions, a series of important government meetings that assess progress and lay out plans for the coming year. The discussion centres on the outlook for the economy in […]
All eyes have been on the “Two Sessions”, an important annual political gathering which ended on 11 March, for clues into macroeconomic policy and energy policy this year. But the guidance suggests a status quo of mixed messages. The government is emphasising support for new industries to achieve its “around 5%” GDP growth target again, […]
China’s steel sector matters in the global green transition. Decarbonising global industry is the next frontier in the transition to greener economies. Steel production accounts for 7% of global emissions. More than half of the world’s steel is produced in China. However, China’s steel production has some of the highest carbon intensities in the world. […]
The development of China’s solar photovoltaics sector may be one of the best witnesses of China’s economic rise and globalization. Having benefited from a free cross-border flow of talent, capital, and technology, China’s solar PV sector took over decades of Western expertise and began to dominate the global market in as short as a decade. […]
This research paper aims to assess the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) role in Europe’s cobalt supply security in the context of the European Critical Raw Materials Act (ECRMA) and the Net Zero Industry Act (NZIA). After reviewing Europe’s need for cobalt and its role in the lithium-ion battery supply chain, it outlines Europe’s strategies […]