china needs oil (1)

China’s need for energy has skyrocketed over the last 20 years as the country has gotten richer and the middle class—now 400 million—has grown into a significant segment of the population.  Energy demands are not being met by domestic production, so China is now a net importer of oil, natural gas, and coal.

China’s energy source mix has traditionally been dominated by coal, but the share of energy produced by coal is dropping.  China is highly dependent on imported oil, which makes up about 68 p