It is estimated that from now on to 2015, approximately half of the Asian energy demand will come from China. Since 1993 when China first became a net oil importer, there has been an annual deficit in China's oil balance. Currently around half of China's oil imports are from the Middle East. From an environmental standpoint, China's reduction of its coal usage is of significance to the whole region. Whether China can manage the growth in its energy demand while trying to wean itself from coal is a big question.
China plays a critical role with respect to the above-mentioned three dimensions of energy security.
As China is the largest energy consumer in the Asia Pacific, and might become one of the world's largest oil importers after the U.S. and Japan, and as coal will still be the principal energy in China in the foreseeable future, China would be at the root of the region's energy problem, and would hold the key to regional energy security. How China solves its enormous energy needs will be one of the great challenges over the coming decades. To unfold energy security cooperation between China and the other Asia Pacific countries is a prime task facing the region. Without China's participation and cooperation, Asia Pacific energy security is unrealistic and unworkable. Without others' cooperation, China's own energy security cannot be guaranteed.