China has made significant strides in ensuring food and energy security, aligning with the objectives of its 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025). The Plan emphasizes enhancing grain production capacity and expanding energy resources as critical pillars for the nation's economic and social advancement.
Over the past nine years, China has consistently maintained grain output above 650 million tons, overcoming challenges such as severe natural disasters. In a historic achievement in 2024, grain production surged past 700 million tons for the first time, marking a milestone in the country's agricultural resilience.
By the end of 2024, China had developed over 1 billion mu (approximately 66.7 million hectares) of high-standard farmland and established irrigation networks extending over 10 million kilometers. These advancements have fortified the nation's capacity to sustain its grain production targets.
In the energy sector, China has solidified its position as the world's largest energy producer. In 2023, the total primary energy output reached 4.83 billion tons of standard coal, representing a 202.6-fold increase since 1949 and an average annual growth rate of 7.4 percent.
The 14th Five-Year Plan calls for an accelerated energy revolution, focusing on building a clean, low-carbon, safe, and efficient energy system. Efforts to improve energy supply assurance capabilities are also a priority.
China's energy landscape has undergone a transformative shift from traditional power sources to renewable energy. By the end of 2023, renewable energy power generation capacity exceeded half of the total installed capacity for the first time in history. In 2024, renewable energy dominated newly installed power capacity, accounting for 86 percent of the total, while the cumulative installed capacity of renewable energy reached a record high of 56 percent of the nation's total.
Further supporting this transition, China's first-ever energy law came into effect on January 1, 2025. The law aims to promote high-quality energy development, ensure national energy security, accelerate the green transition, and support the country's goals of carbon peak and carbon neutrality.
