Nowadays, China is one of the world’s fastest-growing economies and the largest energy consumer. The rapid development of China has brought the country to the brink of environmental collapse. In order to improve China’s environment, it is necessary to change the structure of energy consumption. Natural gas is a high-quality, highly efficient, clean, low-carbon energy source. It plays an important role in the diversification and optimization of China’s coal-dominated energy mix. Different official documents state that coal-to-gas switching is an integral part of the implementation of China’s low-carbon development strategy and a key element in the country’s transition to a sustainable energy system. This paper focuses on the dynamics and structure of gas consumption by sector and region. It also characterizes forecasts in this sphere for the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016–2020).
