In 2005, China’s gross domestic product (GDP) was 8.7 times higher than it was in 1980, showing an annual average growth rate of some 9.5 percent. Total energy consumption was roughly 4.3 times the 1980 level, with average growth of some 5.7 percent each year. And China’s carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from fossil fuel combustion more than doubled between 1980 and 2003, from 394 million tons to 966 million tons, showing an average growth of nearly 4 percent a year. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), China accounted for nearly 18 percent of global CO₂ emissions in 2004, up from only 5.7 percent in 1990.

The pollution issue has long been a concern of the Chinese government, because everyone knows this kind of development is not sustainable in the long run.  Successive Five-Year Plans and recent energy and environmental policies have provided a framework for sustainable development. The 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-10) sets a target to reduce energy use per unit of GDP by 20% by 2010, compared to 2005, and calls for a 10% reduction in key pollutant emissions. China also aims to have renewable fuels account for ten percent of China's total energy consumption by 2010 and 15 percent by 2020.

In April 2006, Premier Wen Jiabao announced three new policy directions: to place environmental protection and economic development on an equal footing; to make environmental protection an integral part of economic development, not simply an afterthought; and to integrate environmental protection into all administrative activity. More recently, in October 2007, President Hu Jintao emphasized the pressing need for resource conservation and environmental protection – principles of sustainable development through which China would “make new contributions to protecting the global climate”.

Energy intensity is a measure of the energy efficiency of a nation's economic system. It is calculated as units of energy per unit of GDP. High energy intensities indicate a high price or cost of converting energy into GDP. Low energy intensity indicates a lower price or cost of converting energy into GDP.

According to previous releases of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), China’s energy intensity increased by 0.8% in the first half of 2006, compared with the same period of 2005. However, in the first half of 2007, the energy intensity dropped 2.78%, compared with the same period of 2006. In the first half of 2008, the energy intensity again dropped 2.88% from the first half of 2007.

The statistics released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Tuesday shows that China's energy intensity dropped 2.89 percent in the first quarter 2009, compared to the decrease of 2.62 percent in Q1 2008. The NBS said the calculation was based on a 3.04-percent increase in energy consumption and the 6.1-percent GDP expansion in the first quarter.

According to the NBS, the improvement in energy efficiency in Q1 2009 can be attributed to the following factors. One is the significant changes in the economic structure. The first quarter GDP contribution from the tertiary industry increased 1.6 percentage points year-on-year, while the contribution from the primary industry, which accounted for 70% of the total energy consumption, dropped 1.9 percentage points year-on-year. Another factor is the improved efficiency of energy use. Among key industrial enterprises with the annual energy consumption of more than 10,000 tons of standard coal equivalent, more than 80% experienced energy consumption decline. A variety of energy conversion efficiency increased a total of 1.55 percentage points, and 5 out of eight kinds of energy conversion efficiency got some improvement. The third factor is the significant improvement in energy recovery and utilization. Key energy-consuming enterprises recycled 19,350,000 tons of standard coal energy, a recycling utilization rate of 2.25%. In addition, energy consumption was reduced in general per unit of added value in various industries. 39 industrial sector experienced energy consumption decrease per unit of added value, of which, petroleum and petrochemical industries 9.80 percent, the chemical raw materials industry 14.44%, the building materials industry 8.24%, steel industry 7.51%, non-ferrous metals industry 16.58%, power industry 10.17%.

In his late February address to Congress, President Obama praised China for making the greatest strides towards the goal of energy efficiency. "We know the country that harnesses the power of clean, renewable energy will lead the 21st century.  And, yet, it is China that has launched the largest effort in history to make their economy energy efficient."

As part of the 4-trillion-yuan stimulus package, China has allocated 23 billion yuan for energy saving, anti-pollution, ecological and environmental protection projects since the fourth quarter of last year.

No one is under the illusion that China's energy consumption and air pollution issue is already under control, but it seems some positive progress is being made.