China’s Energy Diplomacy FES Briefing Paper 13| August 2007 Page 7 nical development of new energy sources will have a significant influence in sustainable energy development. Energy diplomacy must play a prominent role in this field through effective in­ternational energy technology cooperation. By now, e.g. China and EU countries have made great progress in energy technology cooperation. There is an inherent contradiction between energy development and eco-safety. Under no condition should we seek energy development at the expense of the eco-safety or delay the former for the sake of the latter. We must find a well-balanced way for them to coexist harmo­niously. Considering the progressing deteriora­tion of the environment, it is necessary to inte­grate eco-safety appropriately. China is confronted with tremendous ecological distress at home. China’s large population con­centrates mainly in the eastern areas, where the great increase in energy consumption causes se­rious environmental pollution. The country has an unreasonable structure of energy consump­tion: a higher proportion of energy sources with a high degree of environmental pollution such as petroleum and coal, and a lower proportion of clean energy such as natural gas and nuclear energy. China’s energy is used at relatively low efficiency, with the energy-saving technique lag­ging far behind the international advanced level. The index of energy consumption by far exceeds that of developed countries and is higher than the world average level. The best way to realize the coexistence between energy development and eco-safety is to carry out the Energy-Saving Law, the Renewable Energy Law, the currently pending Energy Law and other administrative statutes as supplements; to adhere to the principles of“ecology accep­tance” and“ecology priority” in fields such as energy exploitation, transportation and processing; to implement the“Green GDP Strat­egy”, to promote international technical cooper­ation among enterprises in the fields of dis­charge-reducing, energy-efficiency, as well as the development and utilization of renewable energy; to effectively maintain the eco­environment safety, to gradually reduce the de­pendence on import petroleum; to establish a clean, secure, economical and reliable energy supply system worldwide in the future; to fully utilize the international discharge-reducing and trade mechanism. In terms of eco-safety, China’s energy diplomacy will pay close attention to the acquisition of clean energy, and the introduction of advanced technologies for energy-saving and pollution control. Requirements of environmental protec­tion will be enforced as the standard for the en­trance of foreign investment, gradually changing the industrial structure from high-energy­consumption and high-polluting enterprises. In­ternational cooperation can obtain financial and technical assistance for environment protection through“clean development mechanisms”. The establishment and refinement of laws, rules, and systems of sanctions supervising that energy enterprises should strictly meet the requirements of eco-safety in their business activities both abroad and at home. China should enhance the international consensus and cooperation with developed countries in dealing with climate change, and practically carry out regulations such as the“National Program of Dealing With Climate Change” as well as“Energy-Saving and Discharge-Reducing Comprehensive Program”. In a word, we should do our part in the global management of the environment. 6 Conclusion As one of the five“Outreach States,” one with the largest population in the world, China faces much more fierce challenges. So the seven core aims of the“St. Petersburg Action Plan”- viz. increasing the transparency, predictability and stability of global energy markets; improving the investment climate in the energy rector; enhan­cing energy efficiency and energy saving; diversi­fying the energy mix; securing critical energy in­frastructure; reducing energy poverty; and add­ressing climate change and sustainable deve­lopment- are extremely important for China. We can note that the new energy security con­cept proposed by Chinese President Hu is the theoretical principle guiding the formulation of China’s energy diplomacy policy, which is almost completely compatible with the spirit of the Ac­tion Plan. As long as all countries, no matter what kind of countries they are- e.g. developing or developed, energy-affluent or not- are able to strengthen energy dialogue, seeking common ground while accepting existing differences, the aims of the Action Plan will be achieved. About the author: Dr. Xu Qinhua is a research fellow of the Center for International Energy Se­curity, Renmin University of China.