China's commitment to the goals of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality is a concrete manifestation of its practical actions to promote a sustainable future for humankind. It demonstrates China's commitment to its international responsibilities as a major country, and has garnered attention and recognition from the international community. China has a good foundation to achieve the carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals but, as the world's largest developing country, energy consumer, and emitter of greenhouse gases, meeting the goals requires the development of high quality energy production and consumption systems. Determining how to achieve a more resilient, inclusive, and sustainable mode of energy production and consumption while also ensuring national energy security is key to achieving the carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals. In the context of tight energy supply and demand, uncertainty concerning alternative energy sources, significant carbon reductions, and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, this paper analyzes the proportion of primary energy consumption and production in China, coal as a hedge energy to enhance China's independent supply capacity of oil and natural gas, the installed capacity and electricity generation of renewable energy sources, the allocation of energy consumption and production, energy efficiency, the upgrading of the coal industry, and the main challenges and pressures in meeting the carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals. The study reaches three main conclusions. First, to objectively and accurately understand the current strategic energy situation in China requires a comprehensive analysis of the proportion of primary energy in consumption and production, a focus on the installed capacity of renewable energy and the total available power generation, and an evaluation of the whole life cycle of production, consumption, and final disposal to understand the environmental and economic benefits, carbon emissions, and other indicators. Second, the precise allocation of energy consumption and production in terms of energy grades and space-time is an important measure to save valuable high-grade energy and improve energy efficiency. Improving efficiency and increasing energy savings are among the most effective ways to guarantee the energy required for national economic and social development without increasing the energy supply in the future, and achieving the carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals. Third, it is essential to establish the "threelegged and dual-mode drive" energy production and consumption system with Chinese energy characteristics. The "three legs" refer to continuous optimization of the three relational components, being renewable energy, fossil energy, energy efficiency, and the "dual mode" to building two basic models of energy supply: flexible clean coal electricity + carbon capture, utilization, and storage (or carbon capture and storage), and wind and solar energy + adjustments (energy storage, peaking shaving, and a distributed, flexible grid). The roles and output ratios of these two modes in different development stages in the future should be formulated. The carbon peak and neutrality goals are essential to curbing global climate change and realizing economic restructuring and industrial upgrading in China, in line with its fundamental development goals. However, China needs to balance the relationship between reducing carbon emissions and maintaining energy security and economic and social development. Ignoring the actual energy situation in China and blindly pursuing the carbon peak and neutrality goal may endanger national energy security. Thus, the carbon goal must be achieved not simply by reducing or increasing a certain kind of energy, but by scientifically determining and formulating a flexible development path in accordance with China's current economic and social development, resource endowments, energy science and technology levels, and external environment. Only in this way can China achieve a balance between carbon emission reductions and economic and social development.
