China’s energy-supply security in the multi-energy transition period from fossil fuels to renewable energy

Abstract

The rise of China as an economic superpower after the 2008 global financial crisis has attracted increasing worldwide attention. Securing access to ample and affordable energy supplies - energy-supply security - has underpinned its rise and will continue to contribute to its economic prosperity. This chapter examines China’s energy-security challenge with respect to its policies. The global energy system is currently undergoing a multi-energy transition away from fossil fuels: the powers will take different paths, creating competition between one another and thus between energy sources. The development of China’s energy-security policies and challenges as well as climate change, both at home and abroad, will therefore shape this competition and the global energy transition in the coming decades.