How will China power its huge and growing economy in the years ahead? The world’s largest nuclear programme and ambitious plans for renewable energy are both part of the plan, as Beijing seeks to reduce both greenhouse gas emissions and its dependence on imported oil. But with the Fukushima meltdown turning governments as far away as Berlin off nuclear power, what has been the Chinese reaction to Japan’s disaster? Are China’s plans for alternative energy a chance to collaborate with the USA and lessen the geopolitical tensions caused by its search for raw materials, or yet another potential source of friction? The latest edition of China Analysis, published today by the European Council on Foreign Relations and Asia Centre, offers Chinese answers into these questions by analysing the evolving debates among experts within China itself.
Summary
– CHINA’S MISSING ENERGY DEBATE –
Re-examining nuclear power after Fukushima (Marie-Hélène Schwoob)
The “financialisation” of the oil price (Gong Cheng)
US-China cooperation on renewable energy (Michal Meidan)
China, international energy organisations, and regional cooperation (Marie-Hélène Schwoob)