China's energy demand to peak in 20 years: expert

XIAMEN - China will see its energy demand peak between 2030 and 2035 on the back of expanding industrialization and urbanization, Zhong Ziran, chief engineer of the Ministry of Land and Resources, forecast on Saturday.

The country's energy consumption will grow at an annualized pace of 4.5 percent in the next 20 years, with the accumulative demand for coal, oil and natural gas at 82.6 billion tons, 12 billion tons and 5.8 trillion cubic meters, respectively, Zhong said at a work conference.

In 2012, China, the world's largest energy user, consumed 3.62 billion tons of standard coal equivalent, up 3.9 percent year on year, official data showed.

Over 60 percent of the power driving China's economy comes from coal, which has resulted in serious pollution problems that are forcing China to explore cleaner sources of energy.

Oil and natural gas accounted for roughly 20 percent of the energy consumption.

A report released by China National Petroleum Corporation indicated that China's dependence rates on imports of crude oil and natural gas stood at 56.6 percent and 29 percent, respectively, posing severe challenges for the country's energy security.