Chinese president calls for energy revolution to change how country produces, consumes fuels in order to ensure its long-term energy security; efforts should include boosting alternative energy supply, cutting wasteful consumption, energy conservation

Allison Oesterle

June 13, 2014 (Bloomberg LP) – Chinese President Xi Jinping said the nation needs to find new ways to produce and consume fuels to ensure its long-term energy security, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

The country should reduce wasteful consumption, push for energy conservation and boost alternative-energy supply, Xi said today in a meeting, according to Xinhua. China must also push for market-based pricing for energy and opt for clean technology as part of a nationwide industrial upgrade, Xi said.

China has more than doubled imports of crude oil since 2005. The country is also on track to surpass the U.S. as the world’s largest oil consumer by 2030, according to estimates by the International Energy Agency.

China will build more million-kilowatt coal-fired power stations for long-distance electricity transmission, Xi said. The country will phase out coal plants that still fail to meet environmental standards after they are upgraded, he said.

The nation will start to introduce new nuclear reactor projects on its east coast as soon as possible, Xi said. Xi’s comments were to a meeting of the Central Financial Work Leading Group, according to Xinhua.

--With assistance from Li Liu in Beijing.

To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Feiwen Rong in Beijing at frong2@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brett Miller at bmiller30@bloomberg.net Joshua Fellman, Randall Hackley

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