Energy consumption, industrial structure, and economic growth patterns in China: A study based on provincial data

There are two important paths to transform the economic growth pattern in China: upgrading industrial structure and adjusting energy structure. However, industrial structure depends on the stage of economic development; energy structure depends on resource endowments. Thus, the start times and development paths of China’s economic growth differ from region to region. The changes and differences in industrial structure, energy structure, and the corresponding energy (coal) intensity in one decade are analyzed based on provincial cross-sectional data in 2009 and 2000. It is found that Chinese provinces have different growth patterns due to the difference of resource endowment, industrial structure, and the internal industrial transfer. Moreover, the potential paths of economic growth pattern transformation in provinces in China are analyzed. It should be a common direction to make the industrial structure light and energy structure low-carbon, but the road maps of regional transformation vary significantly.