Good time to switch from coal to gas

As a country that has relatively low natural gas reserve, China mostly depends on imports to meet the market demand. Apart from using ocean-liners, China also imports natural gas through cross-border pipelines－mainly the west route from Central Asian countries, the north route from Russia, and the southeast route－to meet its demand.

To ensure energy security, China has been building its storage capacity. There is a shortage of gas partly because China does not have enough gas storage facilities, many of which are still under construction. However, geopolitical threats shouldn't be a big cause for concern, because the relationship between buyers and sellers today is one of mutual dependence and quite stable.

This is a good time for China to accelerate its switch to clean fuel to better protect the environment, because the international market boasts adequate supply of natural gas for a reasonable price and, more importantly, because China is leading the global march toward clean energy, by aggressively generating solar and wind power to diversify its energy consumption mix.

Ma Xiaojun, a researcher at the Institute for International Strategic Studies of the Central Party School of the Communist Party of China