As the world’s largest energy market, China was among the main topics of discussion during the 22nd World Petroleum Congress in Istanbul. 

Leaders in the energy field stressed the significance of China’s role in the industry, as the US withdrew from the Paris climate deal. 

The Chinese government seemed determined to focus on clean energy and announced it will invest over 360 billion US dollars in renewable power sources. 

“For hydro, solar PV, and wind power, China is number one in the world. For nuclear, the incremental part, [we're] also number one in the world," said Dr. Sun Xiansheng, secretary general of the International Energy Forum. "So we can see that China is very active in the energy both in the production and in the consumption.” 

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) also contributed to global clean energy cooperation. Within the energy industry, the BRI carries importance due to maritime trade. 

“It is the driving force for international nations, even the United Nations adopted the resolutions to support and encourage the countries along the silk route,” Sun added.

The importance of cooperation and the need to build large corridors within the oil and gas sector was also stressed by Wang Yilin, chairman of the China National Petroleum Corporation.

“It is important to jointly put in place a transportation network of railways, roads, pipelines, ports and other supporting facilities, an integrated market featuring open information, linked sub-markets, reserve sharing, connected transactions and joint development of rules, as well as an upgraded version of cooperation, covering the oil and gas full value chain.” Wang said during his speech at the congress.