OREANDA-NEWS. October 11, 2013. A new report, released in Beijing, has outlined China's energy development, current problems and future international cooperation.

The China International Energy Cooperation Report 2012/2013 was unveiled at an event jointly hosted by Renmin University of China, the Center for International Energy and Environment Strategy Studies of Renmin University (CIEESS), Energy Outlook Magazine and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT).

Wu Zongxin, a professor at Tsinghua University, said in his keynote speech that China has to seek out an effective solution to deal with its increasing energy demands. According to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, China consumed about 3.6 billion tons of standard coal equivalent (TCE) in 2012, and accounted for one fifth of the global energy consumption. "China's energy consumption, if it increases by 200 million every year, will probably rise to eight or nine billion TCE in the future," he said.

With energy demands increasing every year, China has become the largest energy consumer in the world. The growing concern from the international community for global climate change has placed carbon tax and carbon trading on the agenda. Therefore, there is mounting pressure on China, where coal consumption still amounts to approximately 70 percent of the total energy consumption.

Despite China's large energy reserves, energy resources per capita are much lower than the average world level due to the large population. The high energy demand has encouraged China to seek cooperation with foreign countries. "China's dependency of foreign oil has exceeded 55 percent," Wu said.

Moreover, China is facing difficulties in climate change. It has overtaken the United States as the world's top annual emitter of carbon dioxide. China is focusing on boosting energy restructuring, and developing clean energy in a bid to reduce carbon emissions.

"Natural gas currently only accounts for about five percent of China's primary energy consumption, while the global average is almost 24 percent. Nuclear power currently accounts for only two percent of China's electricity output, but the average world level is 16 percent," Wu said.

International energy cooperation is therefore crucial for China to meet its energy demand and its responsibility for cutting carbon emissions.