Boao Forum｜Lin Guijun: Energy consumption should be as diversified as diet

Ask AI · How Does the Rise in International Oil Prices Accelerate China’s New Energy Industry?

China News Service, March 24 (Xue Yufei, Yan Shuxin) “To ensure energy security, first, we need to diversify our energy sources, and second, we need to diversify energy consumption.” On the 24th, at the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2026, Lin Guijun, former vice president of the University of International Business and Economics, stated to China News Service.

Lin Guijun gave an example, saying that energy consumption should be as diverse as residents’ dietary consumption, “People cannot only eat lamb; they also need to eat beef, fish, and other foods.”

Recently, international crude oil prices have surged significantly. According to Wind data, since the beginning of this year, ICE Brent crude oil has risen by over 70%.

“Rising oil prices will lead to economic recession and reduced production capacity in oil-importing countries. To reverse this decline, governments will inject a large amount of currency, ultimately leading to inflation. This pattern has been thoroughly researched by predecessors, and it follows the same logic today. On the other hand, rising oil prices will also accelerate the development of alternative energy.” Regarding the impact of international crude oil price increases, Lin Guijun stated.

He mentioned that compared to countries like Japan and South Korea, China’s reliance on international crude oil is relatively low. “China also produces oil, and its development of new energy is quite good.”

Data released by the National Energy Administration in February of this year shows that by the end of 2025, the total installed capacity of renewable energy nationwide will reach 2.34 billion kilowatts, a year-on-year increase of 24%, accounting for about 60% of the total installed electricity capacity in the country. Among them, hydropower installed capacity is 450 million kilowatts, wind power installed capacity is 640 million kilowatts, solar power installed capacity is 1.2 billion kilowatts, and biomass power installed capacity is 47 million kilowatts. The combined installed capacity of wind and solar power is 1.84 billion kilowatts, accounting for 47%, historically surpassing thermal power.

Currently, China is also vigorously developing future energy. The 2026 Government Work Report proposed to cultivate and develop future industries such as future energy, quantum technology, embodied intelligence, brain-computer interfaces, and 6G. This is the first time the government work report has mentioned “future energy.”

(For more reporting tips, please contact the author of this article, Xue Yufei: xueyufei@chinanews.com.cn)(China News Service APP)

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Editor: Wei Wei, Li Zhongyuan