The Historical Evolution and Recent Reform of China's Energy Policy Institutions
Authors:   Asia-Europe Perspective Association, Shim Kie-Un , Choi Sung-Hee 
Published: June 2018

In March, 2008, China announced the integration of its energy management supervision and policies, functions that are currently dispersed among many government agencies, through the establishment of a high-level consultation(the National Energy Commission) and coordination commission(the National Energy Bureau). However, this energy reform plan is evaluated as being weaker than expected. This time, a Ministry of Energy has not been established. Since 1993, China has not had a Ministry of Energy to help formulate and implement a cohesive energy policy. Attempts to establish such a ministry have failed in the face of opposition from other ministries and state-owned energy companies.
The new structures of China’s energy institutions can at least facilitate the process of implementing the energy policy. The new bureau has gained some level of independence from the NDRC. Formerly, the director of the Energy Bureau reported to the vice chairman of the NDRC. Now, the head of the National Energy Bureau is likely to be the vice chairman of the NDRC. In addition to that, the National Energy Commission has become a permanent organization unlike the National Energy Leading Group. Therefore, its coordination capacity should be strengthened. The functions of the National Energy Bureau have also become stronger and expanded because it has newly acquired the authority to develop energy strategies and programs.
However, there is a certain limit to their capacities with regard to coordination among other ministries and control over China's NOCs. The National Energy Bureau does not have the authority to coordinate with other ministries and NOCs. Its authority is maintained with regard to only the daily operations of the National Energy Commission.
As long as China's NOCs equipped with their political, financial, and human resources have considerable influence over the energy decision-making, it is unlikely that the Ministry of Energy, which has a powerful authority to control over the energy institutions, will be established in the near future.
The impact of China's new energy institutions on Korea's energy companies is expected to be limited since those institutions do not have authorities to control over the energy pricing and China's national oil companies. The authority of energy pricing is quite significant and influential in the energy sector. In particular, China's domestic energy price can be a barometer for foreign energy firms to decide whether or not to enter China's downstream market. The decision-making power of energy pricing is still held by the Price Bureau of the NDRC. Therefore, as NDRC's energy pricing policy and NOCs' business strategy do not seem to be significantly changed in the near future, the influence of the institutional reform in China's energy sector on Korea's energy sector is forecasted to be negligible for a while. However, new institutions will speed up the decision-making process of major energy policies and projects, which makes China's NOCs more competitive in the world energy market. On the contrary, It will be harmful for Korean energy firms to obtain overseas energy resources.