Dong Wancheng, Deputy Director of the Development Planning Department of China's National Energy Administration, stated in Beijing on the 27th that China's energy consumption continued to rebound in the first quarter, and its ability to ensure energy supply has been steadily strengthening.

　　On that day, the National Energy Administration held a press conference. Dong Wancheng introduced that since the beginning of this year, as China has smoothly and rapidly transitioned its COVID-19 response measures, social and economic activities have accelerated their recovery, and the economy has stabilized and shown signs of improvement, resulting in an overall stable energy supply-demand situation. The energy landscape in the first quarter has primarily exhibited the following four characteristics:

　　First, energy consumption continues to rebound. Dong Wancheng said that in the first quarter, total electricity consumption across society increased by 3.6% year-on-year, with industrial electricity consumption up 4.4% year-on-year, contributing 78% to the overall increase in electricity demand. Consumption of natural gas and refined oil products has shown a marked rebound since February, driven by year-on-year growth rates. Rising demand for energy in the industrial sector is also boosting steady growth in coal consumption.

　　Second, the capacity to ensure energy supply continues to strengthen. He pointed out that in the first quarter, output of raw coal, crude oil, and natural gas increased by 5.5%, 2.0%, and 4.5% year-on-year, respectively. The energy sector has fully leveraged the “stabilizer” role of medium- and long-term contracts for coal and electricity in ensuring stable supply and prices, and has firmly enforced the responsibilities of local governments and enterprises in guaranteeing energy supply. Since March, coal stocks at nationally coordinated power plants have remained at relatively high levels.

　　Third, energy imports have been steadily increasing. To meet domestic energy demand, China’s energy imports rose slightly in the first quarter. Specifically, coal imports increased by 96.1% year-on-year; crude oil imports rose by 6.7% year-on-year; and natural gas imports fell by 3.6% year-on-year.

　　Fourth, the green and low-carbon energy transition is steadily advancing. He revealed that in the first quarter, China’s new-energy power generation saw double-digit growth. The construction of major projects aimed at optimizing industrial structure and stabilizing growth is accelerating. According to monitoring data, in the first two months of this year, the investment completed on key national energy projects increased by 24.9% year-on-year.