Reactivity, adaptivity, proactivity

This paper examines the Chinese energy policy in the post-bipolar era by means of three conceptual categories – reactivity, adaptivity, and proactivity. The article focuses on China's fundamental energy challenges related to its critical dependence on oil and gas imports, its heavy reliance on environmentally harmful coal, as well as the need for a fundamental overhaul of the Chinese energy industry and economy in a carbon-neutral way in compliance with the global trend. The author concludes that no simple reactivity exists in China's energy policy. Regarding the entire triad of challenges, the Chinese energy policy deals mainly with adaptivity, suggesting a set of solutions that are exceptional in their scale and variety. The clear intention of the Chinese leadership to make an ‘energy revolution’ implying the creation of a clean, low-carbon, safe and efficient energy system in the country points distinctly to adaptivity. There are also manifestations of proactivity in the Chinese energy policy. First, Beijing has decided to prioritize international mechanisms for trading and pricing hydrocarbons, where China calls the shots. Second, it has not only devalued the leadership of the West in the field of ‘green’ energy transition, but also has become a trendsetter in this global process, with real leverage on other countries, including Western ones. The very ‘energy revolution’ that Beijing seeks to make can be seen as proactive. It cannot be ruled out that in the future this Chinese example will be generalized and multiplied globally, with other states following suit. China's energy policy is a combination of adaptivity and proactivity. Given the dynamics of recent decades, proactivity is likely to increase in the Chinese energy policy.

1. Andrews-Speed P. (2025) Crude oil production in China: Explaining the surge. Oxford: The Oxford Institute For Energy Study. August. 24 p.

2. Bobylev S.N., Baraboshkina A.V., Zhu X. (2020) Prioritety nizkouglerodnogo razvitiya dlya Kitaya [Priorities of Low-Carbon Development for China]. Public Administration. E-journal. No. 82. P. 114–139. DOI: 10.24411/2070-1381-2020-10095

3. Borovsky Yu.V. (2025) Politizatsiya mirovoy energetiki: istoricheskiy i sovremennyy kontekst [Politicization of global energy supply: Historical and contemporary context]. Vestnik RUDN. International Relations. No.25(1). P. 45–55. DOI: 10.22363/2313-0660-2025-25-1-45-55

4. Borovsky Yu.V. (2024) Ponimanie energeticheskoy bezopasnosti klyuchevymi tsentrami sily (Rossiya, KNR, SShA, ES) [The Vision of Energy Security by Key Power Centers (Russia, China, USA, and the EU)]. Comparative Politics Russia. Vol.15. No. 2. P. 11–30. DOI: 10.46272/2221-3279-2024-2-15-1

5. Brooks S.G., Ikenberry G.J., Wohlforth W.C. (2012) Don't come home, America: the case against retrenchment. International Security. Vol. 37. No. 3. P. 7–51. DOI: 10.1162/ISEC_a_00107

6. Fan Q. et al. (2008) Heavy metal pollution in the baotou section of the Yellow River, China. Chemical Speciation & Bioavailability. Vol. 20. No. 2. P. 65–76. DOI: 10.3184/095422908X322824

7. Istomin I.A. (2018) Osobennosti mezhderzhavnoy konkurentstsii v usloviyakh vzaimozavisimosti [Rivalry between the Leading Powers in the Context of Global Interdependence]. Lomonosov World Politics Journal. Vol. 10. No 1. P. 72–101.

8. Ivanov N.A., Poussenkova N.N., Sokolov A.V. (2024) Dobycha nefti i gaza iz slantsevykh formatsii: tekushchee sostoyanie i prognozy [Production of Shale Oil and Gas in the US: Current Status and Prospects]. Georesursy. Vol. 26. No. 3. P. 240–249. DOI: 10.18599/grs.2024.3.24

9. Jiang J., Sinton J. (2011) Overseas investments by Chinese national oil and gas companies. International Energy Agency. February. 52 p.

10. Khalova G., Illeritskiy N. (2023) Energeticheskaya geopolitika i transformatsiya ShOS: ot Tsentralnoi Azii k Evrazii i mnogopolyarnomou mirou [Energy geopolitics and the transformation of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization: from Central Asia to Eurasia and the multipolar world]. Energeticheskaya politika, No. 2 (180), P. 78–85. DOI 10.46920/2409-5516_2023_2180_78

11. Loktionov V. I., Xia S. (2025) Kitay na puti k ustoychivoy energetike. [China on the Way to Sustainable Energy]. Studies on Russian Economic Development. No. 1. P. 141–148. DOI:10.1134/S1075700724700618

12. Luthra G., Gupta P. (2023) China’s Belt and Road Initiative in the Energy Sector: Progress, Direction, and Trends. Issue briefs. 2023. No. 677. 28 p.

13. Ma Y. (2025) Analiz evolyutsii energeticheskoy politiki KNR v period c 1990 po 2025 gg. [Analysis of the evolution of China’s energy policy in the period from1990 to 2025]. Economics and entrepreneurship. No. 1(174). P. 30–33. DOI: 10.34925/EIP.2024.174.1.002

14. Malz N., Pao-Yu O. (2024) China's Energy Policy. An Overview for Policy Makers. Berlin: EuropaUniversität Flensburg, March. 40 p. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.13750.31042

15. Mastepanov A., Tomberg I. (2018) Kitay diktuet energeticheskuyu politiku XXI veka [China Forms Energy Policy for 21st Century. International Trends]. Mezhdunarodnye protsessy. Vol. 16. No. 3. P. 6–38. DOI: 10.17994/IT.2018.16.3.54.1

16. Mastepanov A.M. (2024) Energeticheskoie sotrudnichestvo stran BRICS: istoriya i perspectivy [The Energy Cooperation of the BRICS’ countries: history and prospects]. Energeticheskaya politika. No. 8. P. 8–26. DOI: 10.46920/24095516_2024_8199_8

17. Matveev V.A. (2022) Sovremennaya energeticheskaya politika Kitaya: vneshnie i vnutrennie vyzovy [China's modern energy policy: external and internal challenges]. Moscow: IDV RAN. 168 p.

18. Naughton B. (2018) The Chinese Economy. Adaptation and Growth. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press. 608 p.

19. Navdaeva M.E. (2024) Voennaya sila kak instrument realizatsii interesov Kitaya na more [Military power as an instrument of implementing Chinese interests in the sea]. PACIFIC RIM: Economics, Politics, Law. Vol. 26. No. 2. P. 92–106. DOI: 10.24866/1813-3274/2024-2/92-106

20. Oleinov A.G. (2017) Mezhdunarodnaya politekonomia: predmet i metod [International political economy: subject matter and method]. World Economy and International Relations. Vol. 61. No. 2. P. 55-65. DOI:10.20542/0131-2227-2017-61-2-55-65

21. Sharma V., Loginova J., Zhang R., Kemp D., Shi G. (2023) How do past global experiences of coal phaseout inform china’s domestic approach to a just transition? Sustainability Science. Vol. 18. P. 2059– 2076. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11625-023-01312-5

22. Vasiliev D.V., Shavlay E.P. (2020) South China Sea in confrontation between China and the United Sates in Asia. Asia and Africa Today. No. 7. P. 61–66. DOI: 10.31857/S032150750010107-9

23. Wang J., Guo M., Liu M., Wei X (2020). Long-term outlook for global rare earth production. Resources Policy. Vol. 65. 101569. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2019.101569

24. Yergin D. (2020). The New Map: Energy, Climate, and the Clash of Nations. London: Penguin Press. 544 p.

25. Zhe-Yi C., Lu-Tao Z., Lei C., Rui-Xiang Q. (2025) How does China respond to the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism? An approach of global trade analysis. Energy Policy. Vol. 198. DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2024.114486