People's Daily's interview with Wang Zhen, Dean of Business Administration Institute, China University of Petroleum

China is "forced" into position of top energy consumer

People's Daily: A report issued by International Energy Agency on July 19 says, in 2009, China consumed 2.252 billion tons of oil equivalent (about 3.22 billion tons of standard coal), while the United States' consumption was 2.17 billion tons of oil equivalent (about 3.11 tons of standard coal), which shows China consumed 4 percent more than the United States did, thus "making it the world's top energy consumer." Do you think this is correct?

Wang Zhen: I think these statistics are erroneous. What the International Energy Agency is stressing is not China's total energy consumption. It wants to deliver the message to the world China's total energy consumption is 4 percent higher than the Untied States and China is the world's largest energy consumer. Moreover, it adds China has become the world's largest source of emissions of carbon dioxide. We must try to find out the International Energy Agency's deeper intention and the impact of its report is unignorable.

In recent years, China's rapid economic growth has consumed a large quantity of energy. Statistics from National Bureau of Statistics of China show in 2009, China's total energy consumption amounted to 3.1 billion tons of standard coal, 870 million tons more than 2005, while the International Energy Agency's statistic for 2009 is 3.22 billion tons of standard coal, up by 120 million tons. Generally speaking, it's normal there are differences in two sets of statistics, because, after all, there exist differences in ways of compiling the statistics. However, the National Bureau of Statistics has better access to China's energy consumption figures than the International Energy Agency and its statistics are more accurate and believable. Its statistics of China's total energy consumption are undoubtedly more authoritative.

In terms of China's total energy consumption, the error between China's International Energy Agency and National Bureau of Statistics of China is about 3 percent, within the acceptable statistical error range, but it is this error placing China in the top position of energy consumption. The reality, however, is China's energy consumption in 2009 was still lower than the United States. On the energy issue, China has been "forced" to sit in the first chair.

U.S. per-capita energy consumption is 4.5 times higher than China's

People's Daily: Recently, various countries and international organizations have frequently baffled China in the area of energy issues. Could you brief us on the real picture of China's energy consumption?

Wang Zhen: China has in recent years paid a big price and made great sacrifices in order to ensure stable energy supply and protect the ecological environment, and has even suffered big losses and been treated unjustly on this issue. Apart from frequently blaming China's growing energy demands and carbon emissions, various countries and international organizations have even attributed surging global oil prices to China's imports. Recently they even put forward the theory of "energy consuming responsibility." It seems they are reproaching China, saying: "you China are wrong, so you must review your behavior and correct it immediately."

I think it's probably because of their lack of knowledge of China's basic national conditions, they rebuke China for excessively high energy consumption. The overriding national condition of China is that China is the world's most populous nation, with a population much bigger than the OECD countries. If calculated on an average basis, China's per-capita energy consumption will turn out to be very small.

In 2009, China's total population was 1.33 billion, while in the same year, China's total energy consumption was 3.1 billion tons of standard coal, with a per-capita consumption of 2.33 tons of standard coal. Most of the consumed energy is used in production while only a small amount is directly used in people's lives. In 2009, the Chinese per-capita energy consumption was less than 0.23 tons of standard coal. In China, people's daily energy consumption accounts for less than 10 percent of overall energy consumption. If we take into consideration the vast rural areas, China's per-capita energy consumption is even lower, because a number of farmers still have no access to electricity.

U.S. population in 2009 was 300 million while, at the same time, the country's overall energy consumption reached 3.11 billion tons of standard coal. Thus, the per-capita energy consumption of the Americans is 10. 37 tons of standard coal, which is 4.5 times that of China. In the process of large-scale international industrial transfer, high energy-consuming products that used to be made in the United States are being moved to China. The U.S.' per-capita daily energy consumption is much higher than China's.

China's contribution to world energy security

People's Daily: Stable energy supply and ecological environmental protection is the duty of any country, so do you think China has fulfilled its responsibilities?

Wang Zhen: Energy is a comprehensive concept. In terms of primary energy, there are coal, petroleum, natural gas, nuclear power, hydro power, wind power, solar power and biomass energy. Among these types of energy, petroleum and gas is high quality clean energy, comparable to "refined rice" in the energy family. Coal belongs to low quality conventional energy and is "brown rice." People tend to prefer "refined rice" to "brown rice."

China is among the world's few countries mainly depending on coal for energy. The Chinese know "refined rice is better than brown rice."

China has to face up to its national conditions when it comes to energy supply. In 2009, coal, petroleum and natural gas respectively accounted for 69.6 percent, 19.2 percent and 3.8 percent of the country's energy mix. Petroleum and gas consumption made up 23 percent in China's energy consumption mix.

Developed countries' energy consumption centers on oil and gas, in sharp contrast to China's. In 2009, United States' oil and gas consumption respectively accounted for 38.4 percent and 26.2 percent, 19.2 and 22.4 percentage points higher than China's. In total, U.S. oil and gas consumption accounted for 64. 6 percent of its energy consumption mix, 41.6 percentage points higher than China's.

Even Japan, which does not produce oil and gas, depends on them as leading providers of energy. In 2009, oil made up of 43.7 percent of Japan's energy consumption mix, 24.5 percentage points higher than China's, while gas accounted for 16.6 percent, 12.8 percentage points higher than China's. In total, oil and gas accounted for 60.3 percent of Japan's energy consumption mix, 37.3 percentage points higher than China's.

In 2009, China's overall energy consumption equaled 3.1 billion tons of standard coal and its total energy production volume hit 2.8 billion tons of standard coal.

China's dependence on foreign energy was 9.67 percent, while the United States hit 26.76 percent and OECD countries' overall dependence on foreign oil was 32.06 percent, both much higher than China's.

Based on its energy composition characteristics, China has solved its own energy supply problems and is bearing greater environmental pressure. By doing so, China is actually contributing to the world's energy security.

Sticking to energy conservation and emissions reductions

People's Daily: With an expanding economic aggregate, China's energy consumption will surely rise. What's your opinion?

Wang Zhen: As the most populous developing country, China is doing nothing wrong to keep increasing energy consumption - either for economic development or for the improvement of people's living conditions. Even if China is really largest energy consumer in the world, it's nothing to be afraid of or entertain doubt about.

China has always held a serious attitude towards rapidly rising consumption and regards it as a challenge to its economic and social progress. On one hand, China is trying to satisfy its domestic energy demand by making use of its domestic energy supply; on the other, China is pressing ahead with efforts to conserve energy and cut emissions by actively improving its energy consumption mix, greatly raising energy consumption efficiency, and encouraging the development and application of new energy technologies. China's achievements in this regard are obvious to all.

Today, China boasts four world firsts in new energy development: Hydropower installed capacity, the utilization of solar water heaters, nuclear power plants under construction and installed capacity of wind power. Anyway, whether China is the world's largest energy consumer or not, it is sticking to the road of energy conservation, emissions reductions and developing new energy technologies in accordance with its own development level. In doing so, China is responsible for its own people and also for the rest of the world.