Oil for the Lamps of China: Beijing's 21st-Century Search for Energy

   Bernard D. Cole, McNair Paper 67

   National Defense University , 2003 

   This essay addresses Chinese energy dependence and future policy options.

   An introductory review of Beijing’s current energy situation is followed by a discussion of the government organizations that still dominate the energy sector, despite China’s privatization campaign. Next are reviews of China’s dominant coal industry, current oil production and imports, and natural gas sector. Other power sources are discussed, followed by a review of the electrical power distribution system envisioned by Beijing.

About the Author:

Bernard D. Cole is professor of military history in the National War College at the National Defense University, where he has served on the faculty since 1993. His areas of expertise are Sino-American relations and maritime strategy. Dr. Coleis the author of numerous publications, including The Great Wall at Sea: China’s Navy Enters the 21st Century (Naval Institute Press, 2001) and “The PLA Navy andActive Defense,” in The People’s Liberation Army and China in Transition (National Defense University Press, 2003). A retired naval officer with 30 years of experiencein surface warfare, he earned a doctorate in history at Auburn University. 

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