Xinhua recently reported on a swift Chinese response to the IEA’s (International Energy Agency) published number regarding Chinese energy consumption in 2009. The Chinese National Energy Administration (NEA) commented that the IEA number is “inaccurate.” IEA believed that China’s energy consumption in 2009 was the equivalent of 2.252 billion tons of oil, which was the highest in the world and was 4% higher than the United States. Chinese NEA official suggested that IEA is a “rich countries’ club,” and its number “cannot be believed.” According to the number published by the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics, the figure was 2.132 billion.
Source: Xinhua, July 20, 2010
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2010-07/20/c_12354029.htm