General Secretary Xi Jinping attaches great importance to energy development and national security, and has repeatedly emphasized that energy security and guarantee are "major national issues" that cannot be ignored for a moment. On February 29, 2024, the Political Bureau of the Central Committee conducted the 12th collective study on new energy technologies and China's energy security. General Secretary Xi Jinping presided over the study and delivered an important speech, clearly proposing to promote the high-quality development of new energy with greater efforts. This is a strategic decision made by the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, standing at the overall strategic height of the Party and the country, putting forward new arrangements and requirements for the high-quality development of new energy in the new era and new journey, and also conforming to the general trend of development, grasping the historical initiative of energy transformation, and vigorously advancing Chinese-style modernization. We must thoroughly study and implement the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speech, fully implement the strategic arrangements of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, help achieve a high level of energy security, provide a safe and reliable energy guarantee for Chinese-style modernization, and make greater contributions to building a clean and beautiful world.  


In his speech at the 12th collective study of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that China's energy development still faces a series of challenges, such as huge demand pressure, many supply constraints, and arduous tasks in green and low-carbon transformation. The solution to these challenges is to vigorously develop new energy. New energy is energy characterized by clean and low-carbon, based on breakthroughs in new technologies or new materials. Actively developing new energy has become a common choice for countries around the world to address climate change, promote clean and low-carbon transformation, and ensure energy security. New energy is of great significance to high-quality development, which can be summarized as the role of "five forces".  

An important force for ensuring energy security. Internationally, the century-old changes in the world are accelerating, with significantly more unstable factors. The global energy transition is facing unprecedented severe challenges. Especially since the Russia-Ukraine conflict, many European countries have adopted temporary emergency measures such as restarting coal-fired power in the short term to cope with the crisis. However, from a medium and long-term perspective, the key to solving the energy crisis is still to realize the safe and reliable replacement of fossil energy by new energy. Domestically, China's external dependence on oil and natural gas is still relatively high. In the future, China's economy will maintain a long-term positive trend, and energy demand will continue to grow for a long period of time. Under the constraints of carbon emission reduction, vigorously developing new energy, while reducing emissions without reducing productivity, is an inevitable choice and important force for basing on China's energy resource endowment, building a multi-driven energy supply system, improving the ability to ensure independent energy supply, and ensuring energy security.  

The leading force for realizing green and low-carbon transformation. Promoting the green and low-carbon development of the economy and society is a key link in achieving high-quality development; achieving the dual-carbon goals is not something others ask us to do, but something we must do ourselves. Since the new era, China's energy structure adjustment has been accelerated. At the same time, it should be noted that China's industrial structure is relatively "heavy", the energy structure is coal-dominated, and energy efficiency is relatively low, making the transformation task arduous. We must firmly establish and practice the concept that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets, adhere to the synergistic improvement of pollution reduction and carbon emission reduction, further give play to the ecological and environmental benefits and ecological governance benefits of new energy, and further promote new energy to become the leading force in achieving the dual-carbon goals.  

The backbone force for building a modern industrial system. After years of development, China's wind power and photovoltaic industries have become internationally competitive industries, and their status as the world's largest wind power and photovoltaic manufacturing country has been continuously consolidated. Photovoltaic products, lithium batteries, and new energy vehicles have become the "new three" of China's foreign trade exports. In the future, the further development of China's new energy industries such as wind power and photovoltaics will surely become the backbone force leading the development of modern industries.  

A new force for accelerating the formation of new productive forces. In recent years, China's wind power large-capacity units, high towers, long blades, and photovoltaic power generation high-efficiency crystalline silicon cells, perovskite cells, and heterojunction technologies have developed rapidly, leading internationally. With the further increase in scientific and technological innovation, China's wind power and photovoltaics will surely represent the direction of the new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation in the future, continuously open up new tracks, and become a new force leading scientific and technological innovation and accelerating the formation of new productive forces.  

A sustained force for comprehensively promoting rural revitalization. China's rural areas are rich in new energy resources and have huge development potential. In particular, the upgrading of rural power grids has continuously improved rural power infrastructure, providing conditions for local consumption and external transmission consumption. Vigorously developing new energy in rural areas can not only drive farmers to increase their income and consolidate and expand the achievements of poverty alleviation, but also promote energy transformation in rural areas and help build livable, business-friendly, and beautiful villages, which is a sustained force for comprehensively promoting rural revitalization.  

China is the world's largest energy consumer. In 2023, the total energy consumption was 5.72 billion tons of standard coal, accounting for about 27.4% of the world's total energy consumption. With the comprehensive advancement of Chinese-style modernization, China's energy consumption will continue to grow rigidly, and the task of ensuring energy security is extremely arduous. Energy security is related to development security and national security, and ensuring security has always been the top priority of energy development. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that "the rice bowl of energy must be held in our own hands" and "to promote the energy revolution, we must base ourselves on China's energy resource endowment, adhere to establishing first and then breaking, and make overall plans". We must, on the premise of balancing development and security, make overall plans for the high-quality development of new energy.  

On the one hand, we should handle the relationship between "orderly withdrawal" and "establishment", and accelerate the development of new energy. Striving to achieve carbon peak before 2030 puts forward requirements not only for traditional fossil energy such as coal and coal-fired power, but also for new energy such as wind power and photovoltaics. Wind power and photovoltaics must be established first, early, and quickly on the basis of the "orderly withdrawal" of traditional energy, to meet the increment, replace the stock, and become the main body of China's new power sources and electricity. Only when new energy such as wind power and photovoltaics are "established" can traditional energy be gradually phased out, making China's energy green and low-carbon development more substantial and significant.  

On the other hand, we should handle the relationship between the coordinated development of new energy and traditional energy, and realize the optimal combination of new energy and traditional energy. First, we must base ourselves on China's basic national condition of coal being the main energy source, fully recognize that coal and coal-fired power are the "ballast stones" of China's energy security supply, and must not adopt a "one-size-fits-all" approach or unrealistic and overly rapid reduction of coal and coal-fired power. We should promote the clean and efficient use of coal, increase the capacity of new energy consumption, promote the optimal combination of coal and new energy, form a diversified supply system of coal, oil, gas, new energy, and renewable energy, and ensure the stable supply of energy security. Second, scientifically grasp the development rhythm, strengthen the coordination of source, grid, load, and storage, and prevent new energy from developing "far ahead" in some regions while the power grid and regulating power sources cannot keep up, leading to large-scale abandonment of wind and solar energy. Finally, based on the reality that China's wind and solar resources are concentrated in the northwest region while the load is concentrated in the central and eastern regions, we should make overall plans for the medium and long-term layout of energy and electricity to promote coordinated energy development. Make full use of and tap the peak-shaving resources and capabilities of coal-fired power, solar thermal power, etc., rely on UHV channels for external transmission and consumption, and increase the construction of large-scale wind power and photovoltaic bases in the "Three Norths" (Northwest, North, and Northeast) regions; give full play to the load advantages of the central and eastern regions, and increase the distributed development of wind power and photovoltaic power generation; coastal areas should accelerate the development of offshore wind power and nuclear power. Use various means to make China's energy security more secure.  


Promoting the high-quality development of new energy with greater efforts is a long-term systematic project. We should accelerate the planning and construction of a new energy system, ensure energy security, promote green development, and contribute more to advancing Chinese-style modernization.  

Strengthen top-level design. Aiming at the goals and tasks of carbon peak and carbon neutrality, adhering to systematic thinking and overall planning, actively promote the implementation of the "14th Five-Year Plan", organize research on the "15th Five-Year Plan", make overall plans for the medium and long-term optimization of energy and electricity layout, strengthen the connection between energy planning and territorial spatial planning, ecological and environmental protection planning, etc., and promote the coordination and balance of energy production and consumption in various regions and periods across the country. Further improve the renewable energy power consumption responsibility weight system, study the setting of reasonable utilization rates of wind power and photovoltaics by province, guide all regions to take the consumption responsibility weight as the bottom line and the reasonable utilization rate as the upper limit, and orderly promote the development of wind power and photovoltaics. Fully implement the system of green certificates as the basic certificate for renewable energy consumption, establish and improve the coordination mechanism of green certificates, green electricity, and carbon markets, and vigorously promote green energy consumption.  

Solidly promote the construction of new energy infrastructure. Adapt to the needs of energy transformation, further build a new energy infrastructure network, implement renewable energy replacement actions, accelerate the construction of large-scale wind power and photovoltaic bases focusing on deserts, Gobi, and desert areas, pilot the development of deep-sea offshore wind power, carry out the planning and construction of integrated hydro, wind, and solar energy in major river basins, organize the "Wind Action in Thousands of Townships and Villages" and "Sunlight Action for Thousands of Households", and coordinate the promotion of photovoltaic sand control in combination with the sixth phase of the "Three Norths" project. Accelerate the construction of a new power system, scientifically plan the construction of pumped storage and new energy storage, accelerate the innovation and application of UHV flexible DC transmission technology, promote the intelligent transformation of power grid infrastructure, smart microgrids, and charging infrastructure, carry out special actions for high-quality development of distribution networks, study and improve the level of intelligent power dispatching, and enhance the power grid's ability to accept, allocate, and regulate new energy.  

Vigorously promote energy science and technology innovation. Grasp the trend of the new round of global scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, give full play to the advantages of China's super-large market and complete industrial system, implement key research and development technology projects, increase support for new energy key common technology research and development platforms, and focus on promoting research and innovation of high-efficiency power generation technologies such as large wind turbines, power transmission and distribution and smart grid technologies such as flexible DC, and energy storage technologies such as flow batteries and compressed air.  

Continuously deepen the reform of energy systems and mechanisms. Promote the introduction of the Energy Law, and promptly revise the Renewable Energy Law and the Electricity Law. Establish a national unified electricity market system, and improve the organic connection mechanism of medium and long-term electricity, spot, and auxiliary service transactions. Adapt to the needs of large-scale grid connection of new energy, further improve the basic rules of the electricity market auxiliary services and the green certificate and green electricity trading mechanism, and promote green electricity consumption. Clarify the timetable and roadmap for different types of new energy projects to participate in the market, and promote the steady and orderly entry of new energy power generation into the market. Study reform measures to promote the development of smart microgrids, and actively cultivate new formats and models of energy production and consumption for new energy development and utilization.  

Strengthen energy international cooperation in an all-round way. Guided by the joint construction of the "Belt and Road Initiative", make full use of both international and domestic markets and resources to ensure energy security under open conditions. Accelerate the promotion of green energy cooperation under the "Belt and Road Initiative" and promote the implementation of more cooperation projects. Comprehensively deepen energy cooperation with Russia, strengthen technological innovation dialogue and cooperation with Europe in hydrogen energy, energy storage, wind power, smart energy, etc., carry out pragmatic energy exchanges with the United States, continuously strengthen power interconnection with neighboring countries, and promote the construction of a win-win new model for energy green and low-carbon transformation. Strengthen international cooperation in green and low-carbon energy technologies and standard setting, and promote international recognition of renewable energy green power certificates. Deeply participate in the reform of international energy governance, and promote the establishment of a fair, just, balanced, and inclusive global energy governance system.  

(The author is Vice Minister of the National Energy Administration)