ABSTRACT
The major changes that have occurred within China’s energy sector since the country joined the WTO ten years ago can be summed up in the following three ways.
The sector has become more market oriented as a result of reforms, but still has a long way to go
The energy sector in China had to satisfy the basic requirements of joining the WTO in how it implemented market-oriented reforms, but it is safe to say that those reforms were actually more urgent as a result of China’s domestic situation. That is, domestic considerations were more of a factor than outside competition. In the past ten years, therefore, reforms have focused on two main areas: breaking up monopolies and improving price-forming mechanisms for energy products.
