China is rich in coal resource, which is vital for energy security in this country. In early 21st century, the coal chemical industry in China will be oriented to the development of high efficiency, safety, cleanliness, and optimum utilization. In this review, the authors present an introduction to the utilization status of primary energy production and consumption in China. Since 2005, fundamental research studies, supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology of Chinese National Basic Research Program, have been carried out at Taiyuan University of Technology. The Ministry stresses that the new coal chemical industry should be developed in a sustainable manner to realize effective utilization of energy. Moreover, upgrading the high technology to improve actively the recycling processes of coal chemical engineering is of strategic importance to realize the modern coal chemical engineering. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.