China’s energy security concerns are undermining its ambitious climate pledges. We try to understand the contradiction from the perspective of China’s leaders. And, in a country where activism can be dangerous, we find out how environmentalists are working within the system. Is China serious about climate change? 

The Economist’s Beijing bureau chief, David Rennie, and senior China correspondent, Alice Su, talk to Ma Jun from the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, an NGO. Our environment editor Catherine Brahic talks to Li Shuo of Greenpeace East Asia.

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