Coal and petroleum are nature's endowment to humanity – akin to the 'sacred fire' stolen from the heavens by Prometheus. While coal's history as a fuel spans millennia, its utilization as a raw material for energy and chemical production only began haltingly in the 1920s-1930s, nearly a century behind modern petrochemical exploration. Thus emerges a dualistic paradigm: coal versus petroleum, coal chemical industry versus petrochemical industry – twin stars locked in both rivalry and synergy.

As China's primary energy source, coal has underpinned national economic development for decades. The industry is now advancing toward clean energy transformation," stated Ling Wen, Vice Governor of Shandong Province, at the 2019 National Summer Coal Trade Fair on July 23.​​ ​The definition of clean energy should be based solely on emissions, not origin.​​ To ensure national energy security and stable supply, we must fully leverage coal's strengths—abundant reserves, cost-effectiveness, clean utilization potential, and high supply reliability—while developing new and renewable energies. This requires ​comprehensive advancement of clean, efficient, low-carbon, and intensive coal utilization.​

The proportion of coal consumption is decreasing, while natural gas consumption is rising.​​ China's fossil energy structure is characterized by ​abundant coal but relatively scarce oil and natural gas. Given natural gas's ​clean and eco-friendly attributes, it has been vigorously promoted by the state in recent years, with demand growing daily. According to the Energy Development 13th Five-Year Plan, coal's share in primary energy consumption will decline from ​64% in 2015 to about 58%​. Conversely, natural gas's proportion will increase from ​5.9% in 2015 to 10%​.

With accelerating crude oil quality deterioration and refined product quality upgrades, refineries face surging hydrogen demand, making cost reduction a critical strategic priority.​​ As a widely recognized ​highly efficient green fuel, hydrogen boasts a combustion heat value ​2.7 times that of gasoline and 3.5 times that of coal. Currently, its primary application lies in ​propelling secondary/tertiary stages of aerospace rockets.

As the cornerstone of China's secure and stable energy supply, coal plays a vital role in socioeconomic development. Projections indicate that coal will still account for approximately 50% of China's primary energy consumption by 2030 and around 40% by 2050. Addressing the imperative of clean and efficient utilization has become a critical challenge for the coal industry. According to Academician Bao Xinhe, President of the University of Science and Technology of China, the clean utilization of coal extends far beyond simplistic 'burning for energy.' By advancing catalytic processes and enhancing catalytic efficiency, coal can be transformed into diverse chemical products tailored to various demands, achieving truly clean and efficient utilization.

Two years later, coal clean and efficient utilization has once again been included in the Government Work Report. However, unlike the 2016 phrasing—'strengthen coal clean and efficient utilization'—this year's report adopts the formulation 'advance coal clean utilization'. The shift from 'strengthen' to 'advance' signifies more than just a lexical change.​​ ​​'If the earlier term implied reinforcement, "advance" now mandates that this work must be done and must be completed,' stated Liu Zhongmin, Member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and Director of the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences.