OREANDA-NEWS. May 07, 2014. The Energy Finance Club, a platform for cooperation that is co-sponsored by the China Development Financing Promotion Association (CDFPA) and China Energy Research Society, held its launching ceremony and debut event in Beijing.

CPPCC Vice Chairman & CDFPA President Chen Yuan as well as China Energy Research Society President Chai Songyue attended and gave speeches. National Energy Expert Consultative Committee Vice Chairman Zhou Dadi and former National Energy Administration Deputy Director Wu Yin were also present and made remarks. China Development Bank Vice Governor Yuan Li presided over the event.

The theme of the Energy Finance Club's debut event was "Chinese energy development and policy trends during the 13th Five Year Plan and over the mid-to-long term". Over 100 energy and finance companies including State Grid Corporation of China, China Three Gorges Corporation, China Power Investment Corporation, CITIC Group, and Hanergy Group were in attendance.

At the event, Chen Yuan expressed that energy is a central issue in the areas of international politics, finance, and safety strategies, also adding that energy supply and safety have an impact on China's overall modernization drive. Aims of the Energy Finance Club include implementing the country's energy strategy and industry policy, promoting deep integration between energy development and finance, and playing a pioneering role within development finance. Other aims also include guiding and combining societal resources, supporting the building of the country's energy safety system, and supporting the healthy development of energy enterprises. The establishment of this club is an important innovation that relates to close cooperation between the energy and finance sectors. It will work to build a new platform as well as a new cooperation mechanism that enables the financial sector to provide support for changes in how energy is produced and consumed as well as to make contributions to advancing the national energy strategy.

Chai Songyue remarked that the State Council recently convened the first meeting of the new National Energy Commission. Emphasising that energy supply and energy safety impact China's overall modernization drive, the State Council has called for regarding scientific development as the principal focus while pursuing the following goals: advancing changes in the ways that energy is produced and consumed; raising the development levels of eco-friendly, low-carbon, and intelligent modes of energy; combating pollution issues such as smog; strengthening eco-friendly measures relating to energy conservation and emissions reduction; promoting increases in air quality; and adhering to a clean, efficient, safe, and sustainable path of energy development. The Energy Finance Club sees these things as its main tasks and fundamental missions.

Analyzing new changes in China's energy situation and energy investment, Zhou Dadi believes that, aside from needing to guarantee a balanced supply, China's energy development is currently faced with significant external constraints such as air pollution, and energy overcapacity now coexists with a shortage of clean energy. Energy investment is mainly focused on areas such as residential and industrial energy savings, changing transportation modes, and clean energy. Wu Yin believes that China's energy development will exhibit new trends during the 13th Five Year Plan. These will mainly include a slowdown in growth of the country's energy consumption alongside further deepening, accelerating optimization of China's energy mix, increasingly eco-friendly energy production, and a convergence of different energy industries. During the 13th Five Year Plan, China's energy strategy will shift in the direction of building an energy-saving society, regulating the market, diversifying eco-friendly production, using energy efficiently and cleanly, and active participation in global politics.

The Energy Finance Club is committed to promoting connections and cooperation between government ministries, industry experts, leading companies, and financial institutions. Through organizing occasional events such as energy policy seminars, development strategy research, cooperation talks, and project matchmaking, the Energy Finance Club will work in coordination with China Development Bank to provide services to energy companies including financing, expert knowledge support, and business development support. Striving to create a high-end platform that integrates policies, research, and production, the organization is constantly working to raise the development level of eco-friendly, low-carbon, and intelligent modes of energy.

As a leading bank in China's energy sector, China Development Bank has long played an irreplaceable, key role in supporting the ongoing healthy development of this sector. As of the end of 2013, China Development had a domestic energy project loan balance of RMB 929.6 billion. These loans have effectively eased energy resource restraints weighing on China's economic and social development.