China’s new energy strategy aims to shield economy from shocks – and meet climate targets

China has vowed to refine its energy strategy and ramp up major engineering projects over the next five years, placing energy security at the heart of its new development blueprint.The National Energy Administration announced on Monday that it would introduce a new development framework this year, together with a series of sector-specific plans, as Beijing enters its latest five-year plan period.“The internal and external environment for building China’s new energy system is undergoing profound and complex changes,” said Ren Yuzhi, head of the administration’s planning department, in a statement.He cited rising geopolitical fragmentation in the global energy trade and domestic risks such as extreme weather as growing threats to security, alongside rapid technological change reshaping the sector.To respond to these shifts, the administration pledged to improve energy flows and upgrade infrastructure nationwide. To boost self-sufficiency in eastern regions, it said it aims to have local supply cover more than 70 per cent of the projected increase in energy demand in those areas over the next five years.China’s power-hungry coastal regions have long relied on energy imports and long-distance transmission from the country’s resource-rich but sparsely populated western regions.