Using a mathematical programming model, we estimate the economic potential of biomass supply from crop residues in China at various exogenously-given biomass prices and identify the areas that are likely to produce crop residues. Our analysis indicates that China can potentially produce about 174.4-248.6 million dry metric tons of crop residues per year when biomass prices are larger than $100 per metric ton. Rice straw is expected to account for about 47% of total residue production across the different biomass prices and residue production scenarios that we considered. Corn stover and wheat straw can contribute 28% and 25%, respectively, to total biomass production in China. (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier Ltd.