Strengthening the Energy Foundation to Forge the Path Toward a Strong Country

— Insights and Reflections on Building an Energy Powerhouse

Hu Ming, Secretary of the Party Committee, Electric Power Planning & Engineering Institute

At present, the evolving international landscape is profoundly influencing domestic development. A new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation is accelerating breakthroughs, making energy increasingly vital for consolidating the foundations of national security and leading the future development of industries. The Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, grounded in China’s energy realities and the broader trends shaping its future development, explicitly put forward the goal of “building a strong energy nation,” thereby outlining a grand blueprint for China’s energy sector.

1. Understanding and Awareness of an Energy-Strong Country

An energy-strong country is an important foundation for a strong socialist modern country. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that ensuring energy security is vital to the national economy and people’s livelihoods, and constitutes a matter of paramount national importance that must never be overlooked. Stable energy supply is essential for industrial production, transportation, and people’s daily lives. It can be said that, like food, energy is an indispensable basic resource for human society. A powerful energy nation and a powerful agricultural nation are both the foundations of a modern socialist power. Together with 16 other “powerhouse” categories—such as a manufacturing powerhouse and a science and technology powerhouse—they form the cornerstone of building a modern socialist power.

The core essence of becoming an energy powerhouse is “strong energy, strong China.” A leading energy nation must first be “energy-secure,” meaning that the energy sector itself must achieve high-quality development. At the same time, by strengthening our energy sector, we must play a greater role in building a strong China, fully meeting the energy needs of economic development and the people’s aspirations for a better life. This will provide the动力 source for advancing initiatives to become a manufacturing powerhouse and a transportation powerhouse, drive innovation and upgrading across the upstream and downstream industries, consolidate and enhance China’s global competitive edge in green and low-carbon industries, and strengthen our strategic initiative in major-power competition. An energy powerhouse should possess six key characteristics. First, supply is strongly guaranteed. Energy production and supply are secure and ample, the power system operates stably and reliably, and it has effectively withstood various disturbances and shocks. Second, it is strong in green and smart technologies. The level of green and low-carbon energy development and energy-use efficiency have been significantly enhanced. Fossil energy consumption has reached a plateau in an orderly manner and is now gradually declining, while the energy system operates flexibly and intelligently. Third, it has strong technological equipment. China’s energy technology is generally at the forefront globally. It has achieved self-reliance and controllability in key core technologies, and its energy industry boasts strong international competitiveness. Fourth, strong governance capacity. The energy governance system, aimed at building a new energy structure and a new power system, has been further refined, effectively stimulating the vitality of market entities. Fifth, inclusive services are strong. Convenient, high-quality energy services are provided to support economic and social development and improve people’s lives, ensuring that the benefits of energy development are shared by the general public. Sixth, it has strong international influence. China’s ability to shape the global energy landscape has been significantly enhanced, enabling it to lead the global energy transition and climate governance while offering a Chinese solution for sustainable energy development.

2. Advantages and Challenges in Building a Powerful Energy Nation

China’s solid economic foundation, numerous advantages, strong resilience, and vast potential provide favorable conditions for building a powerful energy nation. The institutional strengths of socialism with Chinese characteristics serve as the fundamental guarantee. The Party’s centralized and unified leadership ensures the top-level design and coordinated implementation of the strategy for building a strong energy nation. By successively implementing five-year plans, policy continuity and effective implementation can be ensured. In the realm of scientific and technological innovation, we can fully leverage the advantages of the new whole-nation system, coordinate the development of national strategic scientific and technological forces, and strengthen our capacity for systematic, integrated problem-solving. In the realm of energy governance, China has consistently pursued a model that combines an efficient market with a proactive government, which helps to enhance coordination between market forces and policy measures and ensures the steady advancement of national development. The advantage of an ultra-large-scale market serves as a strategic foundation. China ranks first in the world in both energy production and consumption. Its ultra-large-scale market provides ample room for industrial upgrading and a wealth of application scenarios for new technologies. Moreover, the resulting scale effects help to spread out innovation costs, accelerate technological iteration, and foster a cohort of leading enterprises with global competitiveness. Our ultra-large-scale market is conducive to positioning China as a key player in the global energy market and enhancing our influence over pricing, standards, and other critical aspects. The advantage of a complete industrial system is the core driving force. In recent years, China’s energy production, supply, storage, and marketing system has been continuously improved, and the world’s largest and fastest-growing renewable energy infrastructure has been established. The upgrading of the industrial system has not only ensured a green and low-carbon energy transition but has also strongly propelled the robust growth of the “new three” industries, fostering new drivers of economic growth. It can be said that China’s strengths in its industrial system constitute the core driving force behind building a strong energy nation and provide the confidence needed to address various risks and challenges. Innovation and talent advantages serve as a strong foundation. China’s energy technology and equipment sector has established significant competitive advantages. Technologies and equipment in wind power, photovoltaic power generation, new-type energy storage, Generation III nuclear power, and ultra-high-voltage transmission are among the world’s most advanced. Meanwhile, continuous breakthroughs are being made in hydrogen energy and next-generation nuclear power. The country’s level of scientific and technological innovation is accelerating its transition from following and keeping pace to taking the lead. A robust talent pool has been established, which will provide strong support for building China into an energy powerhouse.

At the same time, it is important to recognize that building a strong energy nation still faces certain challenges. There are still vulnerabilities in energy security, and China’s dependence on foreign oil and gas remains high. The energy mix still needs further optimization, as the coal-dominated energy structure has yet to undergo a fundamental transformation. The way energy is consumed urgently needs to be transformed, and the pathways for diversified, low-carbon alternatives at the end-use stage remain incomplete. All these challenges need to be addressed with great effort in the process of building a global energy powerhouse.

3. Discussion on Approaches to Building a Powerful Energy Nation

Building a powerful energy nation is a systematic undertaking. We must resolutely implement the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, take supporting the complete building of a modern socialist country as the fundamental goal, regard the construction of a new-type energy system as the key path, and center on building a new-type power system. This requires comprehensive planning and coordinated promotion. Build a robust and resilient energy supply system to enhance China’s strategic initiative in national security. Consolidate the foundation of energy supply, maintain an adequate and reasonable production capacity, and strengthen the development of the energy reserve system. To focus on oil and gas security, it is necessary to increase domestic oil and gas reserves and production, strengthen the ability to strategically manage international energy resources, and diversify oil and gas imports. At the same time, efforts should be accelerated to establish viable pathways for new energy sources to replace oil and gas, while enhancing the interconversion among different energy types and their capacity to serve as mutual backup and security support. Promote a coordinated, green transformation of energy supply and demand, and support the building of a Beautiful China. We will continue to pursue a diversified energy strategy that integrates wind, solar, hydropower, nuclear, and other sources; steadily expand the development and utilization of non-fossil energy; and promote the diversified conversion and application of new energy for power generation, heating, hydrogen production, and other purposes. Accelerate the transformation of energy consumption patterns and structure, promote coordinated planning and deep integration across both the supply and demand sides, and establish a collaborative energy transition framework that aligns supply with demand. Promote the integration of energy development and utilization with ecological and environmental governance to achieve bluer skies, greener land, and cleaner water. Strengthen innovation in energy technology to lead the development of a modern industrial system. Accelerate efforts to address shortcomings and strengthen advantages in energy technology and equipment, and enhance the autonomy and controllability of industrial and supply chains. Highlighting national strategic needs, we will intensify efforts to achieve breakthroughs in critical core technologies in areas such as hydrogen energy, long-duration energy storage, and nuclear fusion. By fostering innovative, integrated development across energy and energy-intensive industries, artificial intelligence, and other sectors, we can drive broader technological innovation and industrial transformation, thereby leading the establishment of a modern industrial system characterized by high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and strength. Enhance energy governance capabilities to provide institutional safeguards for building a strong energy nation. Establish a modern energy governance system that covers the entire process, from legislation and standards to planning, policy, market operations, and regulation. Improve and refine the energy legal and regulatory framework and standards; fully leverage the guiding role of planning; comprehensively implement the dual-control system for total carbon emissions and emission intensity; continue to deepen reforms of the energy institutional mechanisms; build a unified, open, competitive, and orderly energy market system; and strengthen the energy regulatory mechanism. Enhance inclusive energy services to support high-quality economic development. By providing safe, economical, green, and high-quality energy supply services, we will fully meet the energy needs of economic and social development and the aspirations of the people for a better life, thereby making energy a key driver of high-quality economic growth. Focusing on new energy, hydrogen energy, and nuclear fusion, we will develop a number of emerging pillar industries to create new drivers of economic growth. By building a strong energy nation, we will enhance our international influence. We will steadfastly advance the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, proactively address global climate change, forge a global partnership for clean energy, and strengthen cooperation in energy technology, standards, and other areas. We will actively participate in the establishment and operation of international energy organizations, enhance our international voice, and strive to be a participant, contributor, and leader in the energy transition, thereby playing a constructive role in global governance.