Directions for Sustainable Development of China’s Coal Industry in the Post-Epidemic Era

Abstract

China’s energy structure is dominated by fossil fuels, especially coal consumption, which accounts for a relatively high share. In January 2020, the COVID-19 outbreak affected the global coal market, and many countries experienced negative economic growth. Economic development requires energy consumption. In 2021, China set a target of peaking carbon emissions by 2030 in order to phase out the dependence of carbon emissions on economic development. Therefore, the aim of this article is to develop directions for the sustainable development of China’s coal industry. Based on the macroenvironment and situation analysis, the article concludes that, under the influence of geopolitics, China’s shortage of imported coal resources and China’s continuous rise in coal demand, the share of coal in China’s energy structure will not decrease significantly in the long-term. The main directions for the sustainable development of China’s coal industry are to ensure the safety of coal energy storage and improve the level of safety supervision; coordinate the development of regional energy; increase the clean, efficient, and low-carbon utilization of coal; and strengthen international coal strategic cooperation.

1. Introduction

The Paris Climate Agreement, reached by countries in 2015, set a global goal of achieving carbon neutrality, and addressing climate change has become a central issue in the fight against environmental problems around the world. More than 130 countries and regions around the world have set zero-emission goals and committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, and the energy transition has opened up new opportunities to achieve carbon neutrality [1]. Stagnant global industry production in 2020 due to COVID-19 and stagnant production led to lower energy consumption [2]. Thanks to normalized prevention and control of the global epidemic, consumption of the three major energy sources recovered in 2021.

The secondary sector’s production process will bring varying degrees of pollution, affecting air, water, and land quality [3,4]. As one of the world’s high carbon-emitting countries, China’s commitment to reducing carbon emissions is important both nationally and globally. Some researchers have shown that changes in industrial structure are having an impact on China’s CO₂ reduction and low-carbon development [5,6,7,8]. China is undergoing a transformation from a secondary sector to a service industry [9]. The share of services in GDP is over 50% [10]; among them, the demand for fossil fuels in the transport sector continues to cause high consumption of coal and oil [11].

Increased energy consumption has led to higher levels of CO₂ emissions. In 2021, global carbon emissions increased by 5.7% year-over-year [12]. Among them, China accounted for 53.8% of global coal consumption, consuming 86.17 EJ [13]. In the first half of 2022, the world was once again affected by the epidemic, with energy consumption and carbon emissions falling. Then, due to political issues in energy countries, global energy supply constraints, and volatile prices, countries are beginning to reconsider the relationship between energy security and low-carbon environmental protection and energy costs, and the energy transition toward sustainability is becoming mainstream [14].

To achieve sustainable development (SD), reducing CO₂ emissions requires reducing the demand for coal consumption and gradually increasing the use of low-carbon renewable energy, nuclear energy, and oil and gas as the main means of SD [15]. According to the “China Mineral Resources Report 2022”, published by the Ministry of Natural Resources, China’s coal reserves will reach 207.885 billion tons by the end of 2021 [16]. The total amount of coal resources in China is large, but the distribution is uneven, showing a pattern of development more in the north and less in the south, more in the west and less in the east [17]. China is the world’s largest producer and consumer of coal, and the coal industry is also an important industrial sector in China that can also play a key role in national security [18]. China’s coal-based energy consumption pattern has led to air pollution in the region [19]. Combined with the mutual influences between economic development, resources, environment, and energy, increasing the sustainability of coal production requires the creation of energy management programs and circular economy programs [20]. The coal industry needs to accelerate the upgrading of clean coal technologies and coal exploration, mining and production technologies in order to reduce pollution caused by CO₂ emissions.

Aims and Objectives:

(1)

Analyze the macroenvironment and the state of development of the coal industry in China in the post-epidemic era;

(2)

Identify risk factors and challenges for the SD of the coal industry in China;

(3)

To substantiate the directions of the SD of the coal industry in China.

Relevant Questions:

(1)

What factors affect the SD of China’s coal industry in the current economic, environmental, and geopolitical context?

(2)

Which areas are promising for SD in China’s coal sector?

Structure of the article:

The article consists of three parts. The first part of the article analyzes the SD of China’s coal industry before and after the COVID-19 outbreak, including analysis of coal production and consumption, import and export, and analysis of coal prices; the second part analyzes the macroenvironment of China’s coal industry using PESTEL analysis (political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal aspects) and SWOT analysis which summarizes the impact of various factors and opportunities for the SD of China’s coal industry; and the third part gives suggestions for the SD of China’s coal industry. In the conclusion, the conclusions of the article are formulated.

The novelty of the paper includes the main risk factors and challenges for the sustainable development of China’s coal industry identified using strategic analysis tools (PESTEL and SWOT), and the proposed integrated approach to the SD of the coal industry in the Chinese energy sector.

The authors’ contributions relate to the integration of a coal sector SD approach with an analysis of government regulation and international cooperation, as well as strategic analysis tools to justify the strategic directions for coal sector development. Taking into account the authors’ comparison of state regulation in the field of SD in the Chinese coal industry (13th and 14th five-year plans) and analysis of Sino–Russian cooperation in the energy sector, the authors substantiated the main directions for SD in the Chinese coal industry, including the following: ensure the safety of coal energy storage and improve the level of safety supervision; coordinate the development of regional energy; increase the clean, efficient, and low-carbon utilization of coal; and strengthen international coal strategic cooperation.

2. Materials and Methods

The article uses literature research, macroenvironmental analysis (PESTEL analysis), and situational analysis (SWOT analysis).

2.1. Literature Analysis

After reading and sorting through a large body of the literature, the authors conducted a basic theoretical analysis of strategic management, development strategy, and models of analysis, and conducted a focused analysis of the current situation and the background of the Chinese coal industry. A comprehensive analysis has definitively shaped the overall research ideas and framework for analysis in this article. Meanwhile, the article compiles the latest statistics and policy documents related to the coal industry through analytical reports from around the world, the China Bureau of Statistics and official government websites, as well as summarizing, systematizing, and analyzing the theories and research findings that provide the evidence base for the research in this article.

2.2. PESTEL Analysis

This article uses a macroenvironmental analysis method, which is an important part of strategic analysis. PESTEL analysis is an effective tool for macroenvironment analysis [21]. This method extends the traditional PEST analysis model. The analysis of the environment in the four areas of political (P), economic (E), sociocultural (S), and technological (T) can comprehensively analyze the overall development of an enterprise [22]. Later, as the analysis model was widely used in research in different fields and disciplines, the PEST analysis model extended the environmental (E) and legal (L) factors to form the PESTEL model [23].

PESTEL analysis can help us better understand the current ecological background and development status of the research site. PESTEL analysis helps us to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the environmental context and development of the subject of the research. Based on the influencing factors of each part of the PESTEL model, the authors developed an analysis methodology (element composition map) for the coal industry (Figure 1).

2.3. SWOT Analysis

SWOT analysis method, also known as the situation analysis method, is a comprehensive assessment of the internal and external environment of a company, including the internal strengths (S) and weaknesses (W) of the company, as well as the opportunities (O) and threats (T) of the external environment [24,25,26,27]. According to the situation of the Chinese coal industry, the article extends the SWOT analysis of strategic competition for coal enterprises to an analysis of the strategic competition situation of the industry. Through a structured and systematic analysis, the directions for the SD of the Chinese coal industry in the post-epidemic era are presented.

The overall research idea, methodology and structure of the article is presented in Figure 2.

Thus, based on the literature review, we have identified the production environment and future trends of the Chinese coal industry; based on the PESTEL analysis, we have examined various factors in the development of the coal industry under the constraints of China’s political and economic system; and based on the SWOT analysis, we have examined the opportunities and challenges for the SD of China’s coal industry. As a result, the directions for the SD of China’s coal industry have been developed.

3. Results

3.1. Current Development of China’s Coal Industry before and after the COVID-19 Outbreak

3.1.1. Production and Consumption

Based on current economic and market trends, China’s coal demand is supported by rapidly growing electricity demand and heavy industry. China’s total coal consumption is more than half of the world’s, and China’s coal demand is expected to decline by 3% in the first half of 2022; this is due to slower economic growth due to the resurgence of COVID-19 in some Chinese cities, but growth in the second half is expected to return annual coal consumption to 2021 levels [28].

In China’s primary energy consumption in 2021, coal accounted for 56%, or about 2.934 billion tons of fuel equivalent, while oil and natural gas accounted for 19.41% and 8.65%, respectively. Total national energy consumption reached 5.24 billion tons of coal equivalent, of which coal consumption increased by 4.6%. In 2021, the four major coal-consuming industries, including electricity, metallurgy, chemicals, and construction materials, used a total of 3.95 billion tons of coal. The share of coal consumption in the whole society is about 93%, increasing year-on-year by 6.7%. The electricity industry consumes 2.42 billion tons of coal, which is about 57% of the coal consumption in the whole society [16]. In 2021, coal consumption by the steel industry reached 670 million tons. The reason is that due to the impact of policies such as export tax incentives in the steel industry and reduced steel inventories, coal consumption fell. Annual coal consumption by the chemical and building materials industries increased slightly, rising by 3.6% and 1.1% year-over-year to 310 million tons and 550 million tons, respectively [29] (Figure 3).

3.1.2. Import and Export

China is rich in coal resources but is not a major coal exporter (Figure 4).

Coal exports from China have also been gradually declining in recent years for the following reasons:

Firstly, compared with coal mined in other countries, Chinese coal is of low quality, with high sulfur content coal accounting for about 33% of the total coal, and the sulfur content reaching 3.2% and 3.0% in the Southwest and Northwest regions, respectively; for North China and Shandong Province, the average sulfur content of coals can reach 1.6% and over 2% [30] (

Table 1. Standards for import and export of commercial coal.

Indicators	Unit	Lignite Coal		Other Coal
		Basic Requirements (Transportation Distance * ≤ 600 KM)	Long-Distance Transportation (Transportation Distance > 600 KM)	Basic Requirements (Transportation Distance ≤ 600 KM)	Long-Distance Transportation (Transportation Distance > 600 KM)
Ash (Ad)	%	≤30	≤20	≤40	≤30
Sulfur fraction (St,d)	%	≤1.5	≤1	≤3	≤2
Heat generation (Qnet,ar)	MJ/kg		≥16.5		≥18
Mercury (Hgd)	μg/g	≤0.6
Arsenic (Asd)	μg/g	≤80
Phosphorus (Pd)	%	≤0.15
Chlorine (Cld)	%	≤0.3
Fluorine (Fd)	μg/g	≤200

* Transportation distance means the distance from the place of origin to the place of consumption (for domestic marketable coal) or from the port of entry to the place of consumption (for foreign marketable coal). Compiled by the authors based on “Interim Measures for Merchant Coal Quality Management” [34].

).

Secondly, imported coal has a price advantage over China’s own domestic coal production. The number of surface coal mines in China is less than 12%, and the production capacity accounts for 17.8% of the country, resulting in high overall coal production costs [31].

Third, the main coal-mining regions in China are located in the west and north, and the regions of coal use are concentrated in the east and south. China’s domestic transportation costs are high, while international transportation is convenient as the price of shipping has been decreasing in recent years, so imported coal has a price advantage [32].

The implementation of the “One Belt, One Road” initiative in 2013 concentrated the source countries of coal imports to China, with Australia and Indonesia being the main source countries. In 2021, the five main sources of coal and lignite imports to China were Indonesia, Russia, Mongolia, Australia and the United States (Figure 5). Indonesia is the largest source of coal imports to China, accounting for about 60 percent of total imports. In 2021, China imported 53.656 million tons of Russian coal, representing 17.6 percent of China’s coal imports; Russia has become the second largest importer of coal to China [33].

3.1.3. Coal Prices

There are two main coal-pricing mechanisms in China: a price determined by market supply and demand, and a price formed by government intervention. The determination of coal prices essentially reflects the inherent relationship between the market and the state in this area. According to the history of coal price development in China, the coal price mechanism can be divided into four stages: (1) a fully planned economy (1953–1984); (2) an intermediate phase of coal prices (1985–2012); (3) a full market phase (2013–2015); and (4) two price options—“base price + floating price” with parallel mid- and long-term agreements and market prices (2016-present) [35,36].

The dynamics of coal prices in China, quarterly, for the period 2018–2022 are presented in Figure 6.

The analysis showed that steam coal prices rose sharply in quarters 1–3 in 2021. The reason is that the energy demand of the whole society has increased rapidly and non-coal power generation is insufficient, which has contributed to the high load of thermal energy and increased demand for thermal coal. On the supply side, due to the influence of political factors, the release of coal production capacity is limited, and at the same time severe import restrictions have led to an imbalance between supply and demand, which has caused steam coal prices to rise sharply. The increase in fuel inventories led to a significant drop in coal prices outside of China, as the reopening of coal-fired power plants in Europe and early restocking pushed coal prices sharply upward.

In 2022, Chinese coal rose in the third quarter due to an imbalance between supply and demand resulting from lower production in coal-producing regions due to COVID-19 prevention and control policies, and higher domestic demand for coal for winter heating in China. Europe has restarted coal-fired power plants and restocked ahead of schedule, which has significantly increased coal prices. As a result, China’s average coal price in the fourth quarter of 2022 increased compared to the previous quarter, but prices gradually declined from October to December (October US$225.21/t, November US$187.04/t, December US$179.01/t). In the long-term, the main factor affecting coal prices and market trends is the conflict between supply and demand [38]. It can be solved by imports (

Table 2. Statistics of the main coal-importing countries in China for 2020–2022.

Year	Options	Russia	Indonesia	Mongolia	Canada	U.S.	Australia
2020	Import (billions of dollars)	2.42	3.12	2.00	0.68	0.11	7.90
	Quantity (million tonnes)	33.67	56.12	28.45	5.50	0.95	78.08
2021	Import (billions of dollars)	7.00	9.71	2.00	28.28	2.70	1.01
	Quantity (million tonnes)	54.77	87.94	16.03	10.43	10.60	11.71
2022 (until November)	Import (billions of dollars)	10.78	16.96	4.23	3.06	1.76	0.31
	Quantity (million tonnes)	61.17	115.12	18.58	6.88	3.94	2.86

Compiled by the authors based on “Statistics of the General Administration of Customs of China [39].

).

The structure of imports in 2022 has changed: shipments from Russia, Indonesia, and Mongolia have increased quite significantly, while there has been a significant decrease from Canada, the United States, and Australia.

3.2. Analysis of the Influence of the Macroenvironment

3.2.1. PESTEL Analysis

• Political

Government control: In China, land belongs to the state; the subject of ownership of mineral resources is also the state, so Chinese coal-mining enterprises are owned by the state. The subjects of the right of subsoil use can be the state, individuals, legal entities, and public organizations, so the subjects of subsoil exploitation are both state enterprises and listed companies, as well as private owners.

State planning: Due to the increased demand for the transformation of the energy structure, the guiding direction for China’s coal industry has shifted toward clean and intelligent. China’s 9th Five-Year Plan proposed accelerating the development of the three strong coal-mining provinces of Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Inner Mongolia; the 10th Five-Year Plan proposed increasing the share of high-quality coal; the 11th Five-Year Plan proposed clean coal production and use; the 12th Five-Year Plan called for the development of large coal conglomerates; and the 13th Five-Year Plan and the 14th Five-Year Plan made corresponding plans for the development of the coal industry in terms of regional coordination.

In 2021, the People’s Bank Of China (PBC) launched the Carbon Reduction Support Program and a special refinancing loan to support the clean and efficient use of coal. To achieve the goal of dual carbon and smooth transformation of the energy structure, in November 2021, the central bank launched a carbon reduction support program and a special refinancing loan of 200 billion yuan (nearly 28.57 billion dollars) to support the clean and efficient use of coal, and provided 60% and 100% refinancing support for eligible loans to reduce carbon emissions and use coal cleanly and efficiently. In early May 2022, the central bank also increased special re-loans for clean and efficient utilization of coal by 100 billion yuan (almost 14.28 billion dollars) to support the development and utilization of coal and increase the capacity of coal reserves. Since the parallel implementation of the two programs, the central bank has disbursed a total of 161.1 billion yuan (almost 23 billion dollars), of which 138.6 billion yuan (almost 19.8 billion dollars) is for carbon reduction support instruments, and 22.5 billion yuan (nearly $3214 million) for special refinancing loans to support the clean and efficient use of coal.

Labor market: China’s “green” jobs will continue to grow in the context of the “dual carbon” approach. The International Labor Organization defines “green jobs” as decent work created in economic sectors and activities that mitigate environmental impacts and ultimately lead to environmentally, economically, and socially SD [40]. In 2020, China announced a targeted vision for carbon peaking and carbon neutrality. This was followed by the rapid development of new types of business, new enterprises, and new industries. According to the National Development and Reform Commission, in 2020, the output of China’s energy-saving and environmental protection industry amounted to about 7.5 trillion yuan, and the share of GDP was 7.38%, making it one of the pillar industries of the national economy. Among the 18 new jobs announced by the Ministry of Human Resources and Welfare in March 2021 are carbon managers.

QE (quantitative easing) policy has some impact on mitigating the impact of COVID-19 on the energy sector [41,42]. At the same time, environmental regulation has a positive effect on investment in R and D. The government needs to continue to formulate environmental policy in order to achieve SD [43], including the government’s function of macroregulation, encouraging industry to develop alternative energy sources and reducing the use of fossil fuels and coal energy [44]. For example, the European Green Deal program is a good model for incentive programs that not only combine industrial growth with investment in deep decarbonization and efficiency, but also create employment opportunities [45].

• Economic

The International Energy Agency (IEA) notes that the surge in natural gas prices (Figure 7) has made coal more competitive in many markets. In 2021, due to global economic turmoil, global mineral prices reached record highs and soaring natural gas prices strengthened coal’s market competitiveness. To achieve sustainable economic growth, China needs a stable supply of minerals, including thermal coal, as a guarantee [46].

Economic transformation: Since 2010, China’s GDP growth has been gradually slowing down (Figure 8), and the Chinese economy has been under constant and enormous pressure to shift from an “export and investment-”based growth model to one based on “domestic demand” and consumption”, and the transition from raw-material low-tech production to high-tech production with higher added value.

Industrial planning: Industrial planning is an economic phenomenon that refers to the spatial distribution and combination of industries in a country or region [48]. Its rationality or irrationality affects the economic advantages of a country or region, determining the rate of economic development [49]. Influenced by the Belt and Road Initiative, launched in 2013, Chinese enterprises are accelerating the pace of “going international” from attracting foreign investment (FDI) to outbound investment.

The consumption of thermal coal in China is concentrated in the power generation, metallurgical, building materials, and chemical industries. Thermal coal dominates the electricity generation structure in China; in the chemical industry, coal is mainly used as a raw material (coal chemistry); in the industry of building materials and metallurgy, coal is mainly used as a fuel. The share of coal consumption in the power industry has remained relatively stable at over 60% for a long period of time [50]. Demand for steam coal in China is highly dependent on macroeconomic conditions and the development of related downstream industries and is generally a demand-driven market.

Power generation industry. At present, China is reducing the use of coal as a source of end-use energy, increasing the share of electricity in its energy consumption, gradually optimizing the energy structure for electricity generation, i.e., optimizing the production of thermal energy, actively developing hydropower, properly and actively building nuclear power, and actively developing and applying new energy sources such as wind, tidal, and solar energy to diversify energy sources for electricity generation. The experience of energy system transformation has been accumulated in Japan, which has been implementing the “Basic Energy Plan” since 2014 to achieve the national goal of reducing emissions by 2030. The plan proposes that through the conversion of old power plants and the promotion of the latest power generation technologies during the construction of new power plants, the research and development of IGCC (integrated gasification combined cycle) technology will be strengthened, the efficiency of coal-fired power generation will be greatly improved, and greenhouse gas emissions per unit of electricity generated will be significantly reduced. In 2025, IGFC (integrated gasification fuel cell) technology will be mastered, which can use hydrogen in coal to generate electricity from fuel cells, thereby reducing CO₂ emissions by about 30% [51].

In an IGCC system, fuel is gasified and burned in a combined cycle gas turbine to generate electricity [52]. Huaneng Tianjin IGCC Power Plant, which began construction in September 2009, is the first self-designed and constructed IGCC power plant in China and, in November 2012, it was put into commercial operation. At present, the IGCC power plant has achieved continuous and stable operation with an annual running time of more than 5500 h and a maximum load of 265.9 MW; the overall results have reached the advanced international level. This example clearly shows that IGCC technology is of great strategic importance for the efficient use of coal and sustainable development, as well as for maintaining national energy security.

Metallurgical industry. China, ranking first in the world in terms of the volume of the metallurgical industry, produces almost half of the world’s production of steel and widely used non-ferrous metals. Because the steel industry market is characterized by long processes, a large number of procedures, and complex processes, there are usually problems such as overcapacity, low labor efficiency, and high pressure on safety and the environment. In the context of the dual carbon target, reducing carbon emissions is the development goal of China’s metallurgy. Hydrogen metallurgy technology, using hydrogen instead of coal as a reducing agent, is the best way for the steel industry to achieve decarbonization [53].

Building materials industry. The “Peak Carbon Action Plan 2030” issued by the State Council of China refers to “PEDF”. PEDF is an acronym for the application of four building technologies: photovoltaic, energy storage, direct current distribution, and flexibility. PEDF is an important pillar for the development of carbon-free energy, which promotes the direct consumption of wind power and photovoltaics. It proposes to deepen the application of renewable energy in buildings and promote the integrated application of photovoltaic energy and buildings.

Chemical industry. With the rise of the petrochemical industry, the development of the coal chemical industry slowed down. However, due to limited oil reserves and rising oil prices, the coal chemical industry has come back into the spotlight. The coal chemical industry can be mainly divided into coal coking, coal gasification, coal liquefaction, etc. In recent years, the production capacity and output of coal chemical products such as coke, methanol, coal-to-gas, and coal-to-oil have gradually increased in China. The development of coal chemical products can alleviate China’s energy problem of “rich coal, oil shortage, and low gas content” to a certain extent, thereby improving energy security. In the context of the energy revolution and low-carbon development, China’s coal chemical industry will also develop toward green and low-carbon development.

• Sociocultural

China’s national economic sectors are divided into three categories: primary sector, which includes agriculture, forestry, livestock, and fisheries (excluding the service sector of agriculture, forestry, livestock, and fisheries); secondary sector, which includes the mining industry (excluding ancillary activities for the extraction of minerals), manufacturing industry (excluding metal products, repair of machinery and equipment), production and supply of electricity, heat, gas, and water, as well as construction; and tertiary sector, namely the service sector, which refers to industries other than primary and secondary industries. Figure 9 shows that, by 2022, only the GNP of the manufacturing industry will grow steadily [54,55].

There is a threshold effect between the disposable income of residents per capita. The regional intensity of carbon emissions depends on the income gap, and low-income areas are limited to green technology innovation and seek to develop economic goals while ignoring environmental protection, resulting in increased carbon emissions [57]. Therefore, the higher the per capita disposable income, the more attention regional development pays to carbon emissions. Figure 10 shows that the average per capita disposable income of Chinese residents is increasing from year-to-year.

Figure 11 shows the upward trend in per capita energy demand and per capita coal demand in China. It is worth noting that per capita demand is related to the total population, and China’s total population in 2022 was 1.411 billion, the first time that China’s population has experienced negative growth in the past 60 years. Thus, China’s per capita energy consumption and coal demand are expected to decline after 2022, excluding other factors [59].

• Technological

The clean and efficient use of coal, supported by the central bank, aims to support the development and use of coal and increase coal reserves. The main areas of support include coal safety production and reserve areas. Including modern coal mine construction, the application of environmentally friendly and efficient technologies, intelligent mines, the transformation of coal mine safety, coal enrichment, capacity building of coal reserves, and other projects. For example, the custom application platform (UAV “Internet+”) is currently being used for coal mines in China, providing inspection and command control of the entire area of coal mines from a safe distance. The implementation of the project can effectively reduce problems such as the human factor and to a greater extent ensure safe mining, natural resource management opportunities, and the normal operation of various critical facilities and equipment of coal mines.

Open-pit coal mining has the advantages of high resource recovery, good safety conditions, high labor productivity, and large production scale, and plays an important role in ensuring a stable coal supply to the domestic market. However, most of China’s coal resources are deep-seated, and less than 12% of coal mines are suitable for open-pit mining. By the end of December 2020, there were 376 open-pit mines in China with a production capacity of 950 Mt/y, accounting for 8% of the total and 17.8% of the country’s production capacity. Of these, 283 are active open-cast coal mines with a production capacity of 751 million tons per year [60].

• Thick-seam development technology

Since the 1990s, China’s coal industry has moved from building high-capacity and high-efficiency mines to building safe and efficient mines, and China’s thick coal-seam technology has reached a high international level. In accordance with the “Coal Mine Safety Regulations”, the mining of coal with caving in coal seams with a thickness of more than 12 m in China is also largely limited. Therefore, an increase in the height of mining and, accordingly, an increase in the height of coal unloading became the direction for further research. After many years of research and development, technical challenges have been successfully overcome, including high-height fully mechanized coal-mining technology, technology and equipment to support the development of large sections in the face, auxiliary transport equipment, and safety. The height of the mine workings has gradually increased to 5.2 m, and the thickness of the coal seam collapse has also increased from 12 m to 20 m. The specific productivity of bottomhole faces is more than 6 million tons/year, up to 10 million tons/year, which significantly increases the efficiency of coal mining [61]. After 2007, China built according to the “safe and efficient” standard. In 2008, there were 292 safe and efficient mines in China, and in 2018, the number rose to 901, an increase of 3 times in 10 years [62].

2.

Technology and equipment for the development of thin and medium coal seams

In 2019, the thin coal-seam intelligent coal-mining unit was applied in the Binhu Coal Mine of Shandong Zaokuang Group. The average mining height of the working face was 1.35 m, and the length of the working face was 139 m. It set a production record of 4000 tons per day on a single face of a thin coal seam and contributed to the elimination of night shifts. This improves the way miners work, contributing to sustainable development.

3.

Support for technologies and equipment for safe and efficient mines

In the past 10 years, China has been working on the three elements of “rock breaking, coal miner anchor winches, and transportation”, which affect the mining speed, take into account foreign advanced technology, which develop comprehensive technology. The development of material-handling equipment has provided strong support for safe and efficient production in coal mines. In China’s mine construction, the largest shaft diameter is currently 6 m. Trackless transport is applied. Shenhua Huangyuchuan coal mine installed China’s first large stand lifting system with a maximum load of 45–57 tons. At the Balasu and Dahaizhe coal mines, the load on the large stand reached 78.5 tons.

In the 21st century, China has made the biggest breakthrough in technology and equipment for well construction in conditions of huge thickness of the topsoil. China has combined the freezing method with the drilling method, and conducted research on drilling control, new types of borehole wall structures, and the design and application of freezing technology, low-temperature high-strength concrete, and new types of borehole wall structures. For example, an innovative wellbore design includes three main and bypass wellbores, with a drilling depth of 583 m. A composite wall of reinforced concrete and steel sheet concrete was used; the secondary well was constructed using the freeze method, with a frozen hole depth of 650 m and a two-layer wall of reinforced concrete and high-performance reinforced concrete [63].

China has built the world’s largest clean and efficient coal-fired power plant. The efficiency of coal-fired power plants has reached the advanced world level. Industrial coal-fired boilers emit ultra-low emissions of common pollutants, and the carbon intensity of coal-fired power is lower than in developed countries such as Japan and Germany. In 2010, China launched an innovation alliance for supercritical coal power generation at 700 °C. In December 2015, the country’s first platform for testing key components at 700 °C was successfully put into operation [64]. Advanced coal-fired power generation technologies such as integrated gasification, combined cycle power generation (IGCC), and fuel cell power generation system integration (IGFC) optimization technology have been developed, which can meet China’s needs for energy diversification, cleanliness, and low carbon dioxide emissions [65]. As of July 2021, carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) projects have started in China, and 49 projects are under construction. CCUS can meet the growing demand for oil while reducing the carbon intensity of coal [66].

• Environmental

Compared to developed countries (Europe, Japan, and Korea), China’s declared carbon neutrality will be achieved 10 years later, in 2060. In China, the carbon peak will be reached in 2030, so the period between the peak of carbon emissions and the declared carbon neutrality is only 30 years. This is substantially shorter than 40–60 years in Europe and the U.S., so the task will be more urgent and more difficult [67,68,69].

Carbon intensity decreased by 18.2% in 2020 compared to 2015, carbon intensity decreased by 48.1% compared to 2005, and non-fossil energy accounted for 15.3% of energy consumption. Green buildings in China account for 60% of new city buildings. Since 2010, the number of new energy vehicles in China has grown rapidly, accounting for 55% of the world’s new energy vehicles; therefore, China is the country with the largest number of new energy vehicles in the world. The average annual growth rate of installed RES capacity is about 12%, and newly installed capacity accounts for more than 50% [70].

In 2021, among China’s 339 cities, 218 cities (64.3%) will meet environmental air quality standards, up 3.5 percentage points from 2020 (Figure 12).

In 2021, soil environmental risks in China will be largely controlled, and the worsening of soil pollution will be contained initially. The coefficient of the safe use of contaminated arable land in the country is stable at a level of more than 90%.

The calculation of the Environmental Quality Index (EQI) is calculated by the formula [72]:

Ecological Quality Index (EQI) = 0.36 × ecological pattern + 0.35 × ecological function + 0.19 × biodiversity + 0.10 × (100 − ecological stress)

(1)

The following indicators are used for the ecological model:

• Coastal area;

Ecological pattern = 0.32 × (0.70 × EL + 0.30 × NONCrr) + 0.68 × (0.10 × ECRR + 0.80 × HQI + 0.10 × PC)

(2)

2.

Inland area;

Ecological pattern = 0.32 × EL + 0.68 × (0.10 × ECRR + 0.80 × HQI + 0.10 × PC)

(3)

Remark 1. 

EL—Ecological Land Area Ratio Index; NONCrr—Marine Natural Shoreline Retention Index; ECRR—Eco-protection Red Line Area Ratio Index; HQI—Habitat Quality Index; PC—Important Ecological Space Connectivity Index.

In 2021, China’s Ecological Quality Index (EQI) value is 59.77, which is basically stable compared to 2020. Figure 13 shows the distribution of the ecological quality of the territory of China.

Table 3. Chinese environmental quality classification * [72].

Category	Index	Content
I	EQI ≥ 70	The natural ecosystem has a high proportion of coverage, low intensity of human interference, rich biodiversity, complete ecological structure, stable systems, and perfect ecological functions.
II	55 ≤ EQI < 70	The natural ecosystem has a higher coverage ratio, lower intensity of human interference, richer biodiversity, more complete ecological structure, more stable systems, and better ecological functions.
III	40 ≤ EQI < 55	The proportion of natural ecosystem coverage is average, subject to a certain degree of human activities, biodiversity richness is average, ecological structure integrity and stability is average, and ecological functions are basically perfect.
IV	30 ≤ EQI < 40	Natural ecological background conditions are poor or the intensity of human interference is high, the natural ecosystem is more fragile, and the ecological function is low.
V	EQI < 30	Poor natural ecological background conditions or high intensity of human interference, fragile natural ecosystems, and low ecological functions.

* Starting from 2021, the environmental quality assessment will be carried out on the basis of the “Regional Environmental Quality Assessment Method (Test)”.

shows the content of China’s environmental quality classification.

Figure 14 shows the distribution areas of coal in China, and a comparison with the ecological quality index values in Figure 13 shows that the environmental quality index in the area of the energy combustion complex is poor (dark green).

The Environmental Performance Index (EPI) is the most widely used measure of environmental cleanliness between countries. This is the most comprehensive index, showing the level of cleanliness of the assessed countries from the cleanest to the dirtiest. Dozens of indicators are considered in the assessment, and the article includes data from one hundred and eighty countries around the world [74].

As a composite index, the Environmental Performance Index combines data on 40 sustainability indicators into 11 broad issue categories, 3 policy goals, and ultimately into a single overall EPI score for each country (Figure 15) [75].

The EPI 2022 examines environmental success factors in three categories: (1) economic; (2) managerial; (3) social. It then examines how these factors contribute to sustainability and shows why some countries are environmentally superior to their peers [76].

Table 4. Overview of EPI results in selected countries in 2022 [73].

Countries	EPI	10-Year Change	Ecosystem Vitality	Environmental Health	Climate Policy
China	28.4	11.40	24.5	32.8	30.4
Russia	37.5	1.6	39	50.6	29.1
U.S.	51.1	3.3	51.4	76.8	37.2
U.K.	77.7	23	62.3	83.9	91.5
India	18.9	−0.6	19.3	12.5	21.7

Compiled by the authors based on “2022 EPI Report” [75].

shows the results of EPI scores for some countries in 2022.

According to the EPI score in 2022, China currently ranks 160th in the world in terms of scores, but ranks 18th in score change over a decade, which shows how much importance China attaches to a clean environment and has made great progress.

The EPI projections show that only four countries—China, India, the United States, and Russia—will account for more than 50% of global residual greenhouse gas emissions in 2050 if current trends continue. A total of 24 countries will be responsible for nearly 80% of emissions in 2050 unless decision-makers strengthen climate policy and change emissions trajectories.

• Legal

To address global warming caused by greenhouse gases, under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), in April 2016, representatives from 73 countries signed the Paris Agreement, an international convention to combat climate change by investing in a sustainable, low-carbon future. The Paris Agreement stipulates that developed countries should provide financial, technological, and other support to developing countries. In particular, developed countries have pledged to achieve the goal of providing $100 billion per year in support funding to developing countries to address climate change by 2020. The Paris Agreement also provides for an inventory of the overall progress of global action every five years, starting in 2023. For example, China has proposed to peak CO₂ emissions around 2030 and strive to reach the peak as soon as possible, and to reduce CO₂ emissions per unit of GDP by 60% to 65% compared to 2005, and other autonomous action targets [77].

On 11 November 2022, China’s UNFCCC National Focal Point formally submitted the “Report on China’s Progress in Implementing the National Autonomous Contribution Target (2022)” to the UNFCCC Secretariat. To fulfill the Paris Agreement, China has also released a white paper on the “Action Plan to Reach the Carbon Peak by 2030” and “China’s Policies and Actions to Address Climate Change”. At present, China has achieved new results in controlling greenhouse gas emissions in key areas. According to preliminary calculations, in 2021, China’s carbon emissions intensity was 3.8% lower than in 2020, and 50.8% lower than in 2005, cumulatively. In 2021, the share of clean energy consumption in China increased to 25.5% and the share of coal consumption decreased to 56.0% [78].

Table 5. Policies related to sustainable development in China in five-year plans.

Plans	Years of the Planned Period	Politics	The Key Content of the Five-Year Plan
The 13th Five-Year Plan (2016–2020)	2016	Thirteenth Five-Year Plan for the development of the coal industry	Actively develop clean coal; Merge and restructure coal-mining enterprises to eliminate backward production facilities; Improve coal quality and control production capacity; Stabilize coal prices; Encourage enterprises to develop medium- and long-term cooperation; Intellectual development of coal mines.
	2017	The 13th Five-Year Coal Mine Safety Plan
	2018	A guide to working with energy in 2018
	2019	Notice of work to eliminate overcapacity in key areas in 2019
	2020	Notice of issues related to the recommendation of the first batch of intelligent coal construction demonstration
The 14th Five-Year Plan (2021–2025)	2021	The 2030 Peak Carbon Action Program	Implementation of the “Carbon Peak” program; To develop an intelligent integrated coal mine management platform (artificial intelligence, 5G network systems); Improve safety management in coal mines; Strengthen research on efficient coal technologies and develop key equipment and new technologies.
		Guidelines for the qualitative development of the coal industry in the 14th Five-Year Plan
		The Smart Coal Mine Construction Handbook (2021 edition)
	2022	The 14th Five-Year Mine Safety Plan
		Science and technology to support the Carbon Peak Program (2022–2030)

Compiled by the authors based on the information from China’s government network sites [79].

compares China’s 13th Five-Year Plan and the 14th Five-Year Plan for SD.

The analysis showed that the 13th Five-Year Plan focused on environmental friendliness and coal quality to ensure productivity and efficiency, while the 14th Plan focused on smart and information technology to ensure safety and efficiency. Due to the complicated international energy supply-and-demand situation and the sharp rise in prices in 2022, China’s energy supply and price stability also faced great risks, so the National Development and Reform Commission of China improved the plan for the coal price mechanism. In 2023, the concrete results of China’s coal price stabilization mechanism and improvement in energy production, supply, storage, and marketing system are expected to be one of the key points of national policy. Then, to ensure the implementation of the carbon peak policy, it is expected that by 2024 and 2025, the coal policy will not only encourage research on new technologies and strengthen the safety management of coal mining, but also carry out various development plans in line with changes in the production capacity of various coal-mining regions, from industry standards to enterprise standards, specifying carbon reduction targets.

Therefore, the government should pay more attention to long-term planning, adhere to industrial restructuring and environmental management, and pursue sustainable energy development [80]. For example, the government can provide different percentages of tax incentives and R and D subsidies to companies that are committed to technological innovation and environmental protection [81].

3.2.2. SWOT Analysis

• Strengths

To strengthen energy supply security, China’s State Council Tariff Commission decided to impose a zero-import duty rate on all coal from 1 May 2022, to 31 March 2023. Meanwhile, rates of 3% (anthracite, coking coal, lignite), 5% (other coal and solid fuel), and 6% (hard coal) were previously applied to different grades of coal [82].

Currently, the high price of imported coal is the main reason to curb import growth. The introduction of a zero-import tax rate for all coal helps reduce the cost of imports, expanding the imports of coal resources (Mongolia, Russia, and Canada). National energy prices are falling, meaning coal imports are expected to be difficult to increase significantly. Integrated mechanized coal mining in China is an effective method for mining powerful coal seams. It has the advantages of a high penetration rate, low energy consumption, low cost, and high efficiency [83]. It refers to low-carbon mining technology and is the main way of mining powerful coal seams in China. It is a landmark technology in coal mining in the world. In 2021, the China University of Mining and Technology developed image-recognition-based intelligent coal unloading control technology, which made a breakthrough and implemented intelligent coal unloading control in the full sense of the word for the first time [84]. This technology has been industrially tested and scaled and applied to the relevant coal mines. Now, Australia, India, Turkey, Russia, Vietnam, and other countries have also begun to pay attention to and implement China’s fully mechanized caving mining technology and have conducted some basic research.

• Weaknesses

In the first half of 2021, China did not import coal from Australia, which is inextricably linked to foreign policy. Fluctuations in coal imports affected the price of coal in China, which in turn affected coal consumption. The data show that from late August through 19 October 2021, steam coal futures prices continued to soar from less than $126.9 per ton to $314.6 per ton.

Thermal energy production in China accounts for 72% of total electricity generation, and coal accounts for about 50% of thermal energy production [85], which has also directly led to a huge increase in the cost of energy supply coupled with increased competition in various industries in China. Competition makes raw material costs for enterprises soar, causing many enterprises to shut down operations and reduce profits. The cost of production is higher than the price of goods sold, forcing enterprises to stop production.

China still has many shortcomings in the precise regulation and effective supply of coal, mainly manifested by the weak ability of the precise exploration of coal resources, low degree of informatization and exploration of coal reserves, weak ability of emergency management and coordination of coal reserves, lack of coal supply, an elastic capacity mechanism has not yet been established, etc.

There is still a gap between technology and equipment in some areas of the Chinese and foreign coal industries. The promotion and application of advanced technology and equipment needs to be accelerated, and the negative environmental impact will become more and more significant as the scale of mining expands. This is mainly manifested in the low degree of automation and large number of people employed in some key parts of coal mining, the need to improve the innovation mechanism of the industry, the innovation ability is relatively weak, the reliability of equipment and systems, the level of technical supervision is low, and the localization capability of large-sized equipment, key equipment, and components is insufficient [86].

• Opportunities

Although China has abundant coal reserves, the amount of coal per capita is relatively small and the ratio of coal reserves to production is relatively low; therefore, large amounts of coal must be imported each year. Countries along the “Belt and Road” such as Russia, Mongolia, and others have rich coal reserves. Compared to domestic coal, foreign coal has a lower price and a comparative advantage. Due to the obvious advantage of imported coal, some onshore thermal power plants are more inclined to buy imported coal. Thus, influenced by domestic coal demand and foreign coal prices, China’s coal imports and exports have formed an import-based model [32].

By the end of 2020, the construction of the Sino–Russian Tongjiang Railway Bridge was largely completed, giving China a reliable guarantee of coal imports from Russia. After the modernization of Russia’s Great Siberian Railway is completed, China’s coal trade with Russia is expected to further expand. The year 2022 was marked by the signing of 13 agreements between the Russian and Chinese authorities concerning economic, trade, and scientific and technological cooperation. The completed “Roadmap for the Qualitative Development of Sino–Russian Trade in Goods and Services” outlines plans to realize the goal of increasing the volume of bilateral trade between China and Russia to $200 billion. The investment cooperation agreement in the field of digital economy signed by the two countries and the inspection agreement of customs and other departments provide an important institutional guarantee for the facilitation of Sino-Russian trade and investment. In order to promote long-term comprehensive cooperation between Chinese and Russian companies in oil and gas, electricity, coal, new energy sources, and energy equipment, PetroChina and Rosneft have jointly organized four “China–Russia Energy Business Forums” since 2018. At the 3rd Forum, the director general of the National Energy Administration of China issued an “Investment Guide for China–Russia Energy Cooperation (Chinese Part)”. The main projects are presented in

Table 6. Russian–Chinese agreements on cooperation in the energy sector through 2021 [87].

Project Areas	Cooperating Companies	Contents
Oil and gas development	China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and Public Joint Stock Company Rosneft Oil Company (Rosneft)	CNPC and Rosneft signed a license agreement for the use of RN-GRID software—a technology for hydraulic fracturing modeling and design of oil reservoirs. Rosneft will contribute to improving the efficiency of the development of Chinese oil and gas fields.
Production facilities	China National Chemical Engineering Co., Ltd. (CNCEC), Sinohydro Group Ltd., China Energy Engineering Group Co., Ltd. (CEEC) and Rosneft	CNCEC and Rosneft signed an agreement on cooperation in the procurement of participation in the construction of production facilities, which provides for long-term cooperation in the construction of new production facilities in Russia for oil and gas production, transportation, and processing according to the list of capital projects, considering the possibility of participation in competitive procurement for the period 2022–2027. Sinohydro Group Ltd. and Rosneft signed “Cooperation Agreement on Participation in Procurement in the Field of Construction of Production Equipment”. Sinohydro Group Ltd.will actively participate in public tenders organized by Rosneft and its subsidiaries, covering areas including but not limited to new construction, modernization, reconstruction, and equipment rehabilitation of oil extraction, hydrocarbon production, and oil-refining equipment. CEEC China Gezhouba Group Co., Ltd. signed a cooperation agreement with Rosneft, aiming to promote long-term cooperation in the fields of oil and gas production, transportation, and processing in Russia, and to conduct specific negotiations on competitive procurement for planned projects of Rosneft between 2022 and 2027.
Energy, power grid	China Energy Engineering Group Co., Ltd. (CEEC) and Russia Merentiev Institute of Energy Systems, Russian PAO Rosseti	CEEC China Electric Power Planning & Engineering Institute and Russia Merentiev Institute of Energy Systems signed a memorandum of understanding on a partnership agreement, which aims to promote cooperation between the two sides in the fields of energy planning and design, energy project-related research, etc. In the future, both parties will promote energy and power cooperation between Russia and China in the fields of energy and power-related cooperative research, organization of seminars and working groups, organization of international conferences and forums, energy and power-related knowledge sharing, organization of exchange visits of researchers/experts, etc. CEEC negotiated with Russian PAO Rosset on cooperation opportunities for the upgrading and renovation of power grid systems and new construction projects in Russia and third countries, and reached a preliminary cooperation intention.
Green energy	China Harbin Electric Corporation (CHEC) and Rosneft; China Dongfang Electric Corporation (CDEC) and Russian Orient Petroleum (ROP)	CHEC signed a cooperation agreement with Rosneft for a 25 MW project in Krasnoyarsk region. The 25 MW project in Krasnoyarsk region is the first wind power project ever planned by Rosneft. The project belongs to Rosneft’s subsidiary OOCL and is located in the Krasnoyarsk oil exploration area. CDEC and ROP signed a cooperation agreement. The two sides agreed to set up a working group to prepare for the launch of a study on the wind power potential of the wind farm of the OOCL project and further deepen the details of the cooperation. The wind power project in Ulyanovsk, Russia, previously supplied and constructed by Dongfang Electric, with a total installed capacity of 35 MW, is the first wind power project developed on a large scale in Russia, and is also the first demonstration project of Chinese wind power equipment entering the Russian wind power market.

. At the 4th Forum, representatives of China and Russia began a discussion on topics related to maintaining energy security and achieving SD. No specific agreement was signed.

• Threats

The resurgence of China’s new COVID-19 outbreak and restrictions on the movement of people have led to the widespread and severe disruption of economic activity. Real GDP fell sharply by an annualized 2.6% in the second quarter of 2022, the largest decline since the outbreak began, China’s economy continue to slow down due to declining consumption. Russia is an important source of energy imports for China. Russian gas, oil, and other energy products are major components of China’s energy supply. Demand for Russian coal imports has increased due to China’s informal restrictions on Australian coal imports in 2020, which would also create a degree of an energy crisis in China should there be problems with energy supplies from Russia [88].

3.3. Planning for the Sustainable Development of China’s Coal Sector in the Post-Epidemic Era

3.3.1. Guaranteeing the Security of the National Energy Storage Facility

Energy security includes the security of the energy supply, the security of the energy system operation, the security of human life, and the use of energy for national economic and social development. In addition to natural disasters, financial crises, and geopolitics, energy security risks must also consider technical risks, such as the safety and stability of the energy system, as well as technical risks, such as production and operation; improve the long-term mechanism for investing and managing safe production in coal mines, and help coal-mining enterprises effectively guarantee investments in safe production; promote the integration of information technology and production safety management in coal mines, and improve the level of information technology in production safety management in coal mines; improve the coal-mining safety information policy and regulatory system, and encourage enterprises to establish early warning disaster automation platforms; improve the construction of coal-mining safety production supervision information systems and improve the level of safety supervision.

Achieving safe and sustainable development of the coal industry must be based on the guarantee of sufficient coal. To ensure the security of coal energy storage, a mechanism should be established to release and reduce coal-mining capacity, and the main production source of electricity generation can be shifted to renewable energy sources [89]. When hydropower, wind power, solar power, and other energy sources are in normal production of electricity, coal mines reduce production and control output; when normal power production is not possible or production capacity is insufficient, coal is used again, and production capacity is phased out gradually and sensibly [90].

3.3.2. Energy Development Planning for Different Regions

Influenced by factors such as the distribution of coal resources and industrial layout, China’s coal industry has gradually formed a cascade development pattern in the east, center, and west during the development process. The intensity of development is high and the investment benefit is declining. Over time, the acceleration of westward coal development has become an inevitable trend. Limited by regionalised differences in coal distribution, the overall coordinated development of coal in China requires an improved production layout of coal bases.

According to the “Guidance on the Quality Development of China’s Coal Industry in the 14th Five-Year Plan” high-quality development guidelines, we can optimize the development layout of coal resources according to the coal consumption demand, resource potential, regional economic characteristics, resource endowment of large coal production bases, development intensity, market location, environmental capacity, transmission channel, and other factors. We can conduct reasonable positioning and scientific planning according to coal consumption demand, resource potential, regional economic characteristics, resource endowment, development intensity, market location, environmental capacity, transmission channel, and other factors, optimize the development layout, promote the systematic planning of coal resource development and ecological environmental protection, and improve coal resource security capacity.

According to the government’s guidance, specific measures for coal production and processing in China are: to formulate and implement environmental governance and ecological restoration work plans for coal mining areas to ensure sustainable development; restoring the ecology of open-pit coal mining sites and industrial production sites, strengthen the prevention and control of air and water pollution in mining areas, and increase the rate of land reclamation. [91].

At the same time, the government needs to improve coal industry laws and regulations, review coal industry policies, improve mining standards and technical processes [92], and increase supervision of the environment, integrate environmental policy into all aspects of regional economic development [93], develop and improve standards, regulations, and oversight for smart mines, clean coal mining, and integrated resource management.

3.3.3. Develop Clean Coal Technology

By 2025, China’s domestic carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP will be reduced by 18% over five years, or about 9.266 billion tons (in 2020, CO₂ emissions associated with China’s national energy system will be about 11.3 billion tons (including industrial process emissions), and coal, oil, and natural gas will account for 66%, 16%, and 6% of carbon emissions, respectively.) [94]. According to the trend that coal consumption in China’s energy consumption is declining by 1% year-over-year, by 2025, coal consumption should remain at about 52%, and total carbon emissions will also peak that year with a peak of 8.01 billion tons. There is a plateau period of 5–6 years.

To realize the 14th Five-Year Plan and the long-term goal of 2035, China must create a “modern energy system” in terms of energy. The coal industry needs to strengthen research on smart technologies for green mines, including precision exploration and 4D-GIS systems, key technologies for smart fast coal mines, smart unmanned mining machine technologies, and key technologies for coal mining. Environmentally friendly mining, building the entire coal mine process data chain technology, implementing intelligent decision-making and automation of coal mine operation, and promoting a flexible coal supply [95]. Minimize the carbon footprint by adopting environmentally friendly energy sources to reduce the use of coal in China’s manufacturing industry [96].

With regard to technology, efforts need to be intensified to research key technologies for clean, efficient, and low-carbon coal use and transform the results, encourage the development of key theories and key technologies for clean, efficient, and low-carbon coal use, and incorporate them into key technology research projects, such as carbon capture, carbon sequestration, and carbon recycling, including in the national science and technology support plan, key energy innovation areas, and key innovation areas [97]. Implement demonstration projects for clean and efficient utilization of coal, and strengthen supervision and incentive policies for coal-consuming industries. [98].

3.3.4. Enhancing International Cooperation

China has a huge market for coal consumption and has a high demand for coal. It is necessary to take full advantage of China’s market demand for coal and sign medium- and long-term coal import contracts with countries along the “Belt and Road” with rich coal reserves to maintain the stability of China’s coal imports. From March to April 2022, total trade in goods between China and Russia reached $24.36 billion, an increase of 15.2% year-on-year, among which total imports of goods by China from Russia reached $16.73 billion, an increase of 40.8% year-on-year; among goods imported by China from Russia, oil, natural gas, and coal accounted for 56.3%, 3.1%, and 8.0%, respectively. In the new international environment, Russia is more positive about carrying out trade and economic cooperation with China; both countries will implement the reached consensus on cooperation and actively expand new areas of cooperation. China should include international mining cooperation in the overall planning of its national security strategy, strengthen strategic research on international coal cooperation, and deeply integrate international coal cooperation with economic and trade cooperation of the Belt and Road, industrial investment, financial cooperation, and other areas [99].

4. Discussion

Most of the SD studies look at China’s energy sector, including the renewable energy segments. The economic recession caused by COVID-19 has led to a decrease in power demand [100,101]. To achieve sustainable environmental targets, fossil fuels should be replaced by renewable energy sources in the energy structure [102]. For SD, China’s policy to be implemented in 2020 shows the government’s commitment to developing renewable energy [103]. There are four main types of clean energy: nuclear, hydroelectric, wind, and photovoltaic. Hydropower is one of the main sources of renewable energy in China, ranking second in terms of renewable energy technologies (RET) for power generation [104]. By the end of 2021, China’s hydropower generation capacity was 134.01 billion kW·h and its nuclear power generation capacity was 407.52 billion kW·h [105]. However, the expansion of hydropower and nuclear projects has simultaneously led to an increase in the processing of minerals in the production process, so that the growth rate of hydropower and nuclear power in China is now gradually slowing down [106].

Globally, installed renewable energy capacity increased by more than 25 billion watts during the pandemic, with the net increase in renewable energy generation capacity exceeding that of fossil fuels and nuclear power combined. By 2022, China’s installed renewable energy capacity reached 1.213 billion kilowatts, accounting for 47.3% of the country’s total installed power generation capacity, and renewable energy generation reached 2.7 trillion kilowatt-hours, accounting for 31.6% of society’s electricity consumption, equivalent to a reduction in domestic carbon dioxide emissions of about 2.26 billion tons [107].

The SD of the coal industry forms the basis for energy security. An analysis of the volume of production and consumption in China’s energy sector and the structure of the types of power generation shows that the current coal-dominated energy structure in China is unlikely to change fundamentally in the short-term (coal accounts for around 56%). The 14th Five-Year Plan for Renewable Energy Development specifies that by 2025, China’s total renewable energy consumption should reach about 1 billion tons of standard coal, accounting for about 18% of primary energy consumption, and non-fossil energy consumption should account for about 20% [108]. Therefore, the key focus remains on optimizing the production and use of coal resources in the country.

Based on data comparisons, the COVID-19 outbreak had a negative impact on coal production and consumption but had no impact on the sustainable direction of the Chinese coal industry. Since the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement set out the global goal of achieving carbon neutrality, China’s approach to the coal industry has focused on “high-quality production and use”. Since 2020, China has gradually proposed different policies to support the efficient use of clean coal, including technical support and environmental guidelines. In the post-epidemic era, the direction of development for the Chinese coal industry remains sustainable, and the overall focus is on achieving carbon emissions reduction and peak carbon dioxide emissions.

In addition to the above, the government promotes the transformation of the energy system to a low-carbon one, and carbon pricing cannot be ignored. Flexible incentives or penalties for companies with different carbon emissions would help promote sustainability [109]. Taking into account the variability in regional sustainable development plans, it is possible to introduce a uniform calculation model that includes the calculation of each cost item involved in the product value chain: energy costs, direct costs of materials, indirect costs, service costs, and labor costs [110]. Companies need to carefully implement sustainability strategies, primarily to develop cutting-edge scientific and technological talent, such as collaborating with colleges and universities, using empowered learning to help students develop operational skills and R and D interests, and recruiting talent for businesses [111]. Second, companies need to pay attention to their own strategic planning, management and evaluation for long-term development, in order to deal with the instability caused by price fluctuations in the energy industry under the macro environment and the rigid indicators under international environmental supervision [112,113]. Coal companies can also formulate a circular business model to extend their own life cycle by creating a new business chain; [114], pay attention to investment trends in the energy trade market, conduct risk assessments for innovative projects in the downstream industries of the coal industry, invest in the best projects, and formulate competitive strategies [115]. Finally, companies need to focus on the long-term value of development, invest more in sustainable development projects, and improve long-term development efficiency [116]. The above-mentioned issues are still under discussion.

Combining strategic tools with a sustainable energy approach, the authors analyze the changes in the development of China’s coal industry in the post-epidemic era and provide a sustainable direction for the future development of China’s coal industry. The limitations of the research are related to the authors’ focus on the research of the coal industry in the energy sector of China as a country case and do not extend it to other countries for cross-sectional comparison. Other modes of generation in the energy sector are discussed very briefly. The problems of green energy were researched on the example of the coal industry, without detailed research on other industries that carry out the production of renewable energy (wind generation, solar generation). Secondly, the analysis in this paper focuses on the development and governance of the coal industry before and after the epidemic, and there is not much expansion of the standards and tools for evaluating environmental governance performance, for example, the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) in the coal industry, which the authors will be researching as a new direction in their subsequent research on environmental assessment systems in the coal industry. In addition to this, the application of intelligent technology in the coal industry in the era of big data will also be the subject of subsequent research by the authors.

5. Conclusions

• The analysis showed that China’s coal production and consumption have been steadily increasing, including the period 2018–2021. Total consumption in the four major coal-consuming industries, including electricity, metallurgy, chemicals, and construction materials, has also increased.
• China’s coal imports tend to increase, while exports tend to decrease significantly. The structure of imports in 2022 has changed. The volume of supplies from Russia, Indonesia, and Mongolia has increased quite significantly; at the same time, the volume from Canada, the United States, and Australia has decreased significantly.
• There are two main coal-pricing mechanisms in China: a price determined by market supply and demand, and a price formed by government intervention. In 2022, prices tended to increase, with the overall price level lower than in the pandemic year of 2021.
• Detailed PESTEL analysis of China’s coal industry showed that the coal enterprises are state-owned. The government is developing large-scale programs of decarbonization, the sustainable development of the coal industry, COVID-19 mitigation programs on energy and the economy, and others. The growth rate of the Chinese economy is gradually slowing down. Demand for thermal coal in China depends largely on macroeconomic conditions and the development of related downstream industries and tends to be a demand-driven market. Much attention is being paid to the transition from raw, low-tech production to high-tech production with higher added value, and many others. China is actively developing new technologies for coal mining, shutting down nonecological mines, not funding foreign coal projects, and developing innovative technologies for environmentally friendly coal consumption. By 2060, China plans to be carbon neutral. To date, China’s environmental indicators are at insufficient levels, which requires intensive work on them. Therefore, China’s current energy planning aims to ensure energy sustainability while respecting environmental constraints.
• SWOT analysis of China’s coal industry showed that the strengths are innovative technologies for the development of powerful coal seams and the weaknesses are the rising prices of imported coal, the volume of consumption of which is 8%. The opportunities provide the expansion of coal imports from Russia and infrastructure development, and the threat is the potential outbreak of a new coronavirus infection, which is currently considered to be overcome.
• The main risks for China’s coal industry development and challenge factors are the high energy consumption and energy intensity of China’s GDP; the need for enormous coal production as well as imports; the difficulty in solving the problem of renewable energy sources with the necessary volumes of coal use; the need to reduce the environmental burden and transition to carbon neutrality by 2060; and the need for the intensive development and implementation of clean coal technologies.
• As part of the “dual carbon” goal, China’s energy restructuring must consider the relationship between the short- and long-term outlook. Under the dire situation of the new epidemic, and increased risks and uncertainties, fossil energy sources will play an important role in supporting China’s economy to maintain sustainable progress. Deepening the energy revolution, the basic national conditions of the coal energy structure should be respected. In the face of sudden public safety risks, the government needs to develop effective policies to prevent and control epidemics. Companies need to improve their emergency planning systems and supplement emergency provisions accordingly, establish emergency stockpiles in accordance with the risk assessment of mobilization hazards.
• An improvement in energy storage security in China can be a mechanism to reduce and release coal-mining capacity. When hydropower, wind power, solar power, and other energy sources are in the stage of normal power generation, coal mines will reduce capacity and control output; when normal power generation is not possible or capacity is insufficient, coal will play a role in guaranteeing the result.
• Increase the development of clean, efficient, and low-carbon coal use and research and development, and include key technology projects such as carbon capture, carbon storage, and carbon recycling as key energy innovations. Focus on areas that consume large amounts of coal and increase industrial and financial policy support. Then, vigorously promote the high-quality development of the modern coal industry, promote coal gasification, coal liquefaction, conversion of coal to natural gas and coal to olefins, expand the coal chemical industry chain, and promote technological advances in new coal-based materials.
• Promote the sustainable development and transformation of the industry and develop a closed-loop economy. Strengthen strategic research on international coal cooperation, and establish economic and trade cooperation, industrial investment, financial cooperation, etc., with countries along the One Belt, One Road; develop overseas mining bases and establish industrial parks where capital, mining, engineering, operation, and foreign trade are coordinated; open resource supply areas for countries along the Belt and Road, reducing transportation risks, and jointly building high-quality coal development.