At present, some 15 million rural residents settle down in China's cities each year. At this pace, the country's rate of urbanization will reach 55-60% by 2020. That means up to 60% of its projected 1.5 billion 2020 population, or 900 million people, will live in cities. Currently, only about 30% of the 1.3 billion Chinese population dwell in cities - about 390 million people. Normally, the average per capita energy consumption of urban citizens is 3.5 times that of rural residents. Therefore, the demand of energy will steadily grow with the pace of urbanization.

Furthermore, energy demand in China is and will be boosted by the sharply growing number of cars. As autos become increasingly affordable, more Chinese want to buy them. According to figures from the Ministry of Public Security, there are now about 30 million motor vehicles on the road across the country. The number is expected to shoot up as sales of automobiles in China continue to grow.

Asia Times