Article
Dadi Zhou
{
"authors": [
"Dadi Zhou"
],
"type": "legacyinthemedia",
"centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
"centers": [
"Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
],
"collections": [],
"englishNewsletterAll": "asia",
"nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
"primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"programAffiliation": "AP",
"programs": [
"Asia",
"Sustainability, Climate, and Geopolitics"
],
"projects": [],
"regions": [
"East Asia",
"China",
"North America"
],
"topics": [
"Economy",
"Climate Change"
]
}
REQUIRED IMAGE
In The Media
Oil Pricing
With oil prices tumbling, some experts believe that this is the perfect time for China to reform its oil pricing mechanism, because a higher tax would currently inflict relatively little hardship on consumers. The government should use this rare opportunity to create a pricing system that better reflects the full economic and environmental costs of fuel production and consumption.
By Dadi Zhou
Published on Nov 25, 2008
Source: China Radio International
With oil prices tumbling, some experts believe that this is the perfect moment for China to reform its oil pricing mechanism because higher tax would currently inflict relatively little hardship on consumers. In an interview on China Radio International, Zhou Dadi shared his opinion that the government should seize this rare opportunity to create a pricing system that more accurately reflects the full economic and environmental costs of fuel production and consumption. Dadi, Director-General of the Energy Research Institute with China’s National Development and Reform Commission believes that pricing policy is an important measure to encourage energy conservation and environmentally responsible consumer behavior.
Dadi aimed to keep his expectations realistic, however, mentioning that the Chinese government may raise the fuel tax in several small steps rather than in one large jump. He expressed his hope that China will ultimately follow the example set by Europe and Japan, where fuel prices are market-based but include a high tax designed to shape consumer behavior.
From a broader perspective, Dadi also spoke about China’s overall oil resources. He said that domestic oil production is increasing more than 2.2% per year, and China is also looking to secure oil imports from a wide range of other countries. The key, he said, is to diversify sources of energy, and to consider energy security, geopolitics, and economic issues when making policy decisions.
About the Author
Dadi Zhou
Former Senior Associate, Energy and Climate Program
Zhou serves as the vice chairman of the State Expert Advisory Committee to the National Energy Leading Group of China, a member of the National Expert Team of China for Climate Change, and as vice president of the China Institute of Geo-politics and Energy Strategy.
- The Process of Sustainable Energy Development in China
Recent Work
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
More Work from Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
- Chernobyl Is Still a Current Event, Forty Years LaterCommentary
The 1986 incident showed that a nuclear accident anytime is a nuclear accident for all time.
Corey Hinderstein
- From Labor Scarcity to AI Society: Governing Productivity in East AsiaArticle
The debate over AI and work too often centers on displacement. Facing aging populations and shrinking workforces, East Asian policymakers view AI not as a threat, but as a cross-sectoral workforce strategy.
Darcie Draudt-Véjares, Sophie Zhuang
- Governing AI in the Shadow of Giants: Korea’s Strategic Response to Great Power AI CompetitionArticle
In its version of an AI middle power strategy, Seoul is pursuing alignment with the United States not as an endpoint but as a strategy to build industrial and geopolitical leverage. Whether this balance holds remains an open question.
Darcie Draudt-Véjares, Seungjoo Lee
- Is China’s High-Quality Investment Output Economically Viable?Commentary
China’s rapid technological progress and its first-rate infrastructure are often cited as refuting the claim that China has been systematically overinvesting in non-productive projects for many years. In fact, as the logic of overinvestment and the many historical precedents show, the former is all-too-often consistent with the latter.
Michael Pettis
- The Much-Touted Middle Corridor Transport Route Could Prove a Dead EndCommentary
For the Middle Corridor to fulfill its promises, one of these routes must become scalable. At present, neither is.
Friedrich Conradi
