Exports-driven primary energy requirements and the structural paths of Chinese regions

As the major primary energy importer in the world, China has engaged in considerable efforts to ensure energy security. However, little attention has been paid to China’s embodied primary energy exports. Separating the international export from regional final demand, this paper focuses on quantifying provincial primary energy requirement arising from China’s exports, and tracing its concrete interprovincial supply chains using multi-regional input-output analysis and structural path analysis. Results show that China’s embodied primary energy uses in exports (EEE) reached 633.01 Mtce in 2012, compared to 565.15 Mtce in 2007. Four fifths of the EEE were supplied through interprovincial trade. Eastern coastal provinces accounted for nearly 70% of the national total EEE, while their primary energy supply mainly sourced from the central and western provinces. Most interprovincial supply chain paths of embodied primary energy exports were traced to the coal mining sectors of Shanxi, Inner Mongolia and Shaanxi. Critical receiving sectors in the final export provinces were Chemical industry, Metallurgy, Electronic equipment, Textile and other manufacturing sectors. Important transmission sectors were Electricity and hot water production and supply and Petroleum refining, coking, etc. In view of the specific role of exports in primary energy requirements, provincial energy uses are largely dependent on its domestic trade position and degrees of industrial participation in the global economy. Managing critical industrial sectors and supply chain paths associated with the international exports provide new insights to ensure China’s energy security and to formulate targeted energy policies.