Potential In China Research Articles

Prospects of hydropower industry in the Yangtze River Basin: China's green energy choice

Abstract Energy security is so important especially when green energy choice is urgently in need. With a series of environmental pollution issues caused by burning fossil fuels, China will change in the future in responding to the need of shifting from fossil fuels to green energy. Hydropower resource is abundant with a great developing potential in China, especially the hydropower in the Yangtze River Basin plays a key role in the adjustment of China's energy structure. However, there are many obstacles to its development, including accommodation & consumption problem, environmental pollution & climate change problem, immigration issue etc. China has halted the development of the majority of small and medium hydropower projects, since the hydropower in the Yangtze River Basin also has many disadvantages on its own. This paper summarizes the current situation of the hydropower industry in the Yangtze River Basin, and makes a comprehensive discussion on its development by using Externality Feature Analysis and SWOT Analysis. A series of development proposals from the aspects of institutional, technical, commercial and political are made to help make the hydropower be a better green energy choice, realize the healthy and sustainable development of the hydropower industry in the Yangtze River Basin, and ensure the smooth progress of energy structure adjustment in China.

Parametric study of the production performance of an enhanced geothermal system: A case study at the Qiabuqia geothermal area, northeast Tibetan plateau

Abstract Enhanced Geothermal System (EGS) is an essential approach to entrap heat from deep hot dry rock (HDR), a low-carbon and renewable energy. Understanding the long-term productivity performance of the EGS and its sensitivity to different reservoir parameters can help to achieve efficiently the optimized exploitation of a designated reservoir. The Qiabuqia geothermal area, located in the northeastern margin of the Gonghe basin, Tibetan Plateau, is one of the areas that have the greatest HDR geothermal resources exploration and development potential in China so far. Based on the geological data of the GR1 borehole at the Qiabuqia geothermal area, northeast Tibetan plateau, a 3D thermo-hydraulic coupled numerical model is established in this study with the method of finite element to assess the heat production potential. The mathematical model presented in this study is validated by the analytical solution of a single fracture model. By varying several key reservoir parameters (e.g. thermal conductivity, permeability, porosity, injection mass flow rate, injection fluid temperature, and lateral well spacing), the sensitivity analysis of the long-term production temperature and electric power rate evolution is implemented. The simulation results indicate that in the basal granitic reservoir with a depth of 2900 m–3400 m and a corresponding initial temperature of 160 °C–180 °C, the temperature produced and effective electric power can maintain at 173.4 °C and 2.48 MW for the first 7 years of simulation under the combination of 50 kg/s of injection flow rate, 60 °C of the injection fluid temperature and a 300 m of lateral well spacing. At the end of the 40-year operation period, the outlet temperature decrease to 162.8 °C, as well as a drop of 9.7% in the electric power. Sensitivity analysis with the method of ‘One Factor At a time’ suggests that the permeability is the parameter that affects the production temperature and energy extraction the most compared with the thermal conductivity and porosity. For a specified geothermal field with a known distribution of permeability, thermal conductivity and porosity, the injection mass flow rate has the most significant effect on the electric power output, followed by the injection temperature and the lateral well spacing. The results from the complete factorial experimental design simulation suggest the electric power performance of the reservoir can be increased by a reasonable multi-parameter combination. For a doublet well extraction system, based on the Qiabuqia geothermal area, a combination of 70 kg/s injection flow rate, 60 °C injection temperature, and 500 m lateral well spacing can attain an effective electric power output of 3.47–3.50 MW. Thus, this study compares the different heat mining performance potential under various reservoir parameters and their combinations through the aforementioned sensitivity analysis and can greatly promote the establishment and development of EGS program in the Qiabuqia geothermal area in the future.

Spatial Distribution of Secondary Organic Aerosol Formation Potential in China Derived from Speciated Anthropogenic Volatile Organic Compound Emissions.

Fine particulate matter (PM2.5), largely composed of secondary organic aerosol (SOA), is currently one of the most intractable environmental problems in China. As crucial precursors for SOA, understanding the formation propensity of various volatile organic compound (VOC) species and sources is useful for pollution control. In this work, we estimated the SOA formation potential (SOAP) of anthropogenic VOC emissions based on an improved speciated VOC emission inventory and investigated its distribution in China. According to our estimates, toluene had the largest SOAP, followed by n-dodecane, m-/p-xylene, styrene, n-decane, and n-undecane, while passenger cars, chemical fiber manufacturing, asphalt paving, and building coating were the top five SOAP-contributing sources nationwide. The spatial distribution of SOAP in China shows a distinct pattern of high values in the southeast and low values in the northwest. Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and surroundings, the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta, and Sichuan-Chongqing District were found to have the highest SOAP, particularly in urban areas. The major SOAP-contributing species and sources differed among these regions, which was attributed to local industrial and energy structures. Our results suggest that to mitigate PM2.5 pollution in China, more efficient SOAP-based control measures should be implemented instead of current emissions-based policies, and VOC control strategies should be adapted to local conditions.

A climatological study of air pollution potential in China

Air pollution potential (APP) is a measure of the meteorological conditions conducive to high air pollution levels, independent of source emissions. We propose the integrated concentration footprint (ICF) as a new indicator to quantify APP and present the climatology of the APP distribution in China. The HYSPLIT model was employed to calculate back trajectories and to derive ICF at grid points over China, for the period 2000–2012. The annual mean APP exhibited a distribution in reasonable agreement with topography and climate features. Seasonal characteristics of APP are also presented. Comparison of the seasonal variation in APP with that of air pollution data at selected cities produced diverse results. APP agreed well with air pollution variations in Urumqi, a city in northwestern China. However, in eastern China, APP peaked in summer, which is in contrast to observations, where the lowest air pollution levels occurred in this season. Two possible factors were considered to resolve this discrepancy, namely, the scarcity of pollutant sources over the sea surface and the wet removal of particulate matter. Adjusted APP exhibited an inland shift of its maximum in southeastern China and reduced values in summer, which were in more reasonable agreement with air pollution data. The correlations between adjusted APP values and air pollution levels were significantly improved in the southern coastal cities of Guangzhou and Shanghai, but could not adequately capture the observations for other inland cities. Although preliminary, the ICF provides a comprehensive measure of the meteorological background of China’s air pollution.

China Reinterpreted: Staging the Other in Muromachi Noh Theater

China Reinterpreted: Staging the Other in Muromachi Noh Theater

Energy intensity and energy conservation potential in China: A regional comparison perspective

Increasing energy demand and the associated environmental pressures have ignited the Chinese government's concerns regarding energy conservation. Using provincial-level panel data covering the period of 2000–2015, this study first identifies the drivers of energy intensity across China's regions, employing a series of econometric techniques allowing for cross-sectional dependence and slope homogeneity. Based on the estimation results and scenario analysis, this study forecasts the possible energy conservation potential at the regional level by 2030. The panel augmented mean group (AMG) estimator provides similar estimation results for the three regions: economic structure and urbanization rate are the deterministic factors increasing energy intensity, while R&D investment and relative energy price reduce it. The results of scenario analysis indicate that, under the advanced scenario, the energy conservation potential in the eastern, central, and western regions in 2030 will be 1,209.53 million tons of coal equivalent (tce), 664.23 million tce, and 774.48 million tce, respectively. At the national level, the advanced scenario can save 2,648.24 million tce of energy consumption by 2030, accounting for 43.3% of the energy demand under the business-as-usual (BAU) scenario. Finally, these findings offer several targeted policy suggestions for reducing energy intensity and promoting energy conservation potential at the national and regional levels.

Assessment of Sweet Sorghum-Based Ethanol Potential in China within the Water–Energy–Food Nexus Framework

As bio-ethanol is developing rapidly, its impacts on food security, water security and the environment begin to receive worldwide attention, especially within the Water–Energy–Food nexus framework. The aim of this study is to present an integrated method of assessing sweet sorghum-based ethanol potential in China in compliance with the Water–Energy–Food nexus principles. Life cycle assessment is coupled with the DSSAT (the Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer) model and geographic information technology to evaluate the spatial distribution of water consumption, net energy gain and Greenhouse Gas emission reduction potentials of developing sweet sorghum-based ethanol on marginal lands instead of cultivated land in China. Marginal lands with high water stress are excluded from the results considering their unsuitability of developing sweet sorghum-based ethanol due to possible energy–water conflicts. The results show that the water consumption, net energy gain and Greenhouse Gas emission reduction of developing sweet sorghum-based ethanol in China are evaluated as 348.95 billion m3, 182.62 billion MJ, and 2.47 million t carbon per year, respectively. Some regions such as Yunnan Province in south China should be given priority for sweet sorghum-based ethanol development, while Jilin Province and Heilongjiang Province need further studies and assessment.

Why is China’s wind power generation not living up to its potential?

Following a decade of unprecedented investment, China now has the world’s largest installed base of wind power capacity. Yet, despite siting most wind farms in the wind-rich Northern and Western provinces, electricity generation from Chinese wind farms has not reached the performance benchmarks of the United States and many other advanced economies. This has resulted in lower environmental, economic, and health benefits than anticipated. We develop a framework to explain the performance of the Chinese and US wind sectors, accounting for a comprehensive set of driving factors. We apply this framework to a novel dataset of virtually all wind farms installed in China and the United States through the end of 2013. We first estimate the wind sector’s technical potential using a methodology that produces consistent estimates for both countries. We compare this potential to actual performance and find that Chinese wind farms generated electricity at 37%–45% of their annual technical potential during 2006–2013 compared to 54%–61% in the United States. Our findings underscore that the larger gap between actual performance and technical potential in China compared to the United States is significantly driven by delays in grid connection (14% of the gap) and curtailment due to constraints in grid management (10% of the gap), two challenges of China’s wind power expansion covered extensively in the literature. However, our findings show that China’s underperformance is also driven by suboptimal turbine model selection (31% of the gap), wind farm siting (23% of the gap), and turbine hub heights (6% of the gap)—factors that have received less attention in the literature and, crucially, are locked-in for the lifetime of wind farms. This suggests that besides addressing grid connection delays and curtailment, China will also need policy measures to address turbine siting and technology choices to achieve its national goals and increase utilization up to US levels.

Ethanol as a vehicle fuel in China: A review from the perspectives of raw material resource, vehicle, and infrastructure

Abstract Currently, car ownership in China accounts for 20% of the world's cars, and there is tremendous growth potential in China's motor vehicle market, along with the quick improvement of the urbanization level. These advances will gradually increase the energy and environmental pressures faced by China. A direct and effective method to address these issues is to develop alternative vehicle fuels. This paper elaborates on the necessity and feasibility of developing fuel ethanol in China by comparing fuel ethanol with five kinds of alternative fuels that have either been put into use or are in the demonstration stage. Additionally, we construct a triple-perspective (raw material resource-vehicle-infrastructure) analysis framework. Based on this framework, the review concludes that China should develop 1.5-generation bioethanol in accordance with its own conditions in view of raw material resources. Compared with gasoline, bioethanol has the advantages of having an antiknock ability, engine efficiency and torque output from the perspective of the vehicle, but it also has some performance disadvantages. For infrastructure, the policies regarding using marginal land for planting energy crops lack specific and definite goals. Therefore, the government should increase its investment and develop new varieties of 1.5-generation bioethanol with higher quality and yield; step up efforts to help consumers understand that ethanol is a safer and more friendly antiknock additive than methyl tertiary butyl ethers (MTBE), which should be limited in its additive amount; and assess the environmental and economic feasibility of marginal land used for energy crops.

Engineered Bamboo’s Further Application: An Empirical Study in China

The trend of sustainable development has been followed more globally nowadays. There is an urgent need for ecological friendly construction materials in China since the use of concrete produces pollution and leads to inefficient use of energy. Bamboo can effectively address the sustainability trends due to: lightweight construction, little adverse impact on the environment, and anti-seismic properties. However, bamboo products utilization has been very limited. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility to further utilize bamboo products in the construction industry in China. A review of engineered bamboo products utilization in China, and oversees was conducted. Based on this, a survey focusing on the current situation and suitability of bamboo products was carried out to study their feasibility, and preliminary testing on bonding shear strength for different configurations are presented. The results are promising, in particular the relatively low clamping pressure of 0.6 MPa seems to be sufficient for bonding, and it is clear that engineered bamboo products have a great potential in China. However, further more comprehensive studies on the performance of the laminated bamboo are needed.

Analysis of Potential of Inbound Tourism for Major Sources of Tourists and Influencing Factors in China

Since 2015, the inbound visitors of most sources of tourists such as Japan, Russia and Malaysia in China have been on a growing decrease. While the inbound visitors of some sources of tourists such as the United States, Germany and Thailand have only shown some subtle changes. Therefore, China’s inbound tourism is facing an increasingly great downward pressure. On the basis of existing researches, this paper screens indicators in light of the economic development of the source of tourists, the appeal of Chinese culture, the economic and trade exchanges with China and transportation costs in China. In consideration of cultural appeal, this paper establishes a new indicator system to evaluate the potential of inbound tourism of major sources of tourists. It finds out the problems in the process of their development and figures out some solutions in order to improve the competitiveness of China’s tourism. At the same time, this paper utilizes the principal component analysis to evaluate the potential of inbound tourism for nineteen sources of tourists with the help of cross-section data in 2015. It also ranks in a comprehensive way the major influencing factors of their potential of inbound tourism with direct oblimin. The ranking in order of importance is the rate of outbound tourism, the per capita national income, the proportion of the 25-64 age group, the number of Confucius Institutes, the number of overseas students in China, as well as investment in China. The evaluation result shows that South Korea, the United States and India are the sources of tourists with the highest potential in China. These countries such as Singapore, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and France have certain potential to be the sources of tourists. Moreover, Philippines, Indonesia, and Mongolia are at the end of the ranking.

Decomposition of energy efficiency and energy-saving potential in China: A three-hierarchy meta-frontier approach

Considering both regional heterogeneity and industrial heterogeneity, this paper proposes a three-hierarchy meta-frontier data envelopment analysis (DEA) to decompose energy efficiency and energy-saving potential into three components, i.e., industrial structure, regional balance development, and management. Based on this approach, the paper then analyses the historical evolution and current status of energy efficiency in China. The results show the following. (1) From 2001 to 2015, Mainland China's energy efficiency increased by a factor of 2.48, primarily because of technological progress and the optimization of its industrial structure. (2) Nonetheless, the current energy efficiency in Mainland China remains very low and energy inefficiency is as high as 0.5922, indicating that 59.22% of total energy consumption is invalidly used. Severe industrial structure inefficiency and regional balance development inefficiency are the two main factors responsible for the very low energy efficiency. (3) By promoting industrial restructuring, regional balance development, and management improvement, Mainland China is expected to save, respectively, 13.67%, 24.54%, and 61.73% of its current total invalid energy consumption. Based on the estimation results, this paper formulates strategies to improve energy efficiency and save energy for China's provinces based on their specific situations, considering not only the direction of industrial restructuring in both the short and long terms but also the path to improved energy efficiency. In addition, a brief discussion about the applicability and the preconditions for an application of the multi-hierarchy meta-frontier approach is given at the end of the paper.

Terrestrial heat flow and crustal thermal structure of the Gonghe-Guide area, northeastern Qinghai-Tibetan plateau

The Gonghe-Guide area, which is located at the northeastern edge of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, has the greatest hot dry rock (HDR) geothermal resources exploration and development potential in China. Separated by the Waligong tectonomagmatic belt, the study area includes the Gonghe and Guide basins, which are characterized by distinctly different thermal state and surface thermal manifestations. Although a number of geophysical explorations have been undertaken, studies on fundamental geothermal theory remain scarce, including a lack of high-quality heat flow determinations and thermal structure studies. In this study, we obtained continuous steady-state temperature logs from three deep boreholes (GR2 and DR3 in the Gonghe basin and ZR1 in the Guide basin). The thermal conductivities and radiogenic heat production rates of the outcrop samples gathered from the two basins were measured. The heat-flow values were determined to be 116.3–122.3mWm−2 for the Gonghe basin, yielding a mean of 119.3mWm−2. Two existed heat flow sites (R2 and R3 boreholes) gave an average heat flow of 75mWm−2 for the Guide basin, which is approximately that of the regional background heat flow level of the northeastern Tibetan Plateau. The 1-D theoretical crustal thermal structures of the Gonghe and Guide basins were constructed by solving steady-state heat conduction equation. The results show that the Moho temperature and mantle heat flow in the Guide basin were 1016°C and 27mWm−2, respectively. However, the temperature field in the Gonghe basin indicated partial melting in the crust. The high temperatures and thus heat flow in the Gonghe basin may suggest the existence of anomalous heat source body in crust. Successful inversions of vertical and horizontal temperature variations of boreholes in the Gonghe basin were obtained by numerically simulating a cooling rectangular magma chamber with a buried depth of 5–6km and horizontal dimensions of 12–14km. The study emphasizes that the anomalous heat flow in the Gonghe basin may be the joint thermal effect of: (1) the high regional background heat flow level of the northeastern Tibetan Plateau, which is mainly due to the radiogenic heat of thickened crust; (2) the cooling of a shallow magma chamber, which may be caused by the uplift and denudation of the plateau.

The economy-wide energy efficiency in China’s regional building industry

Abstract The building industry in China is energy-intensive, and promoting energy efficiency improvements and energy savings in this sector is of vital significance for its sustainable development. Using a proposed meta-frontier DEA approach, this paper investigates the key factors responsible for changes in the economy-wide energy efficiency and the sources of both energy inefficiency and energy-savings potential in China’s regional building industry for the 2000–2014 period by considering three aspects: the technology gap, scale efficiency, and pure technical efficiency. The results show that (1) during the sample period, the energy efficiency in China’s building industry increased significantly. Technological progress and improvements in pure technical efficiency were the two main contributors. (2) Energy inefficiency in China’s building industry was measured at 0.5836, indicating that more than half of the current total energy consumption in this sector was wasteful. The regional technology gap and pure technical inefficiency were the two main sources of energy inefficiency. (3) Energy inefficiency and the energy-savings potential in China’s building industry showed distinct spatial characteristics, indicating that the focus of future work should vary by province.

A method for evaluating photovoltaic potential in China based on GIS platform

Solar photovoltaic systems are commonly utilized in China. However, the associated research is still lack of its resource potential analysis in all regions in China. Based on the existed data about solar radiation and system conversion efficiency data, a new method for distributed photovoltaic potential assessment has been presented. The experiment of three kinds of solar photovoltaic system has been set up for the purpose of analyzing the relationship between conversion efficiency and environmental parameters. This paper fits the relationship between conversion efficiency and solar radiation intensity. This method takes into account the amount of solar radiation that is effectively generated and drives away the weak values. With the spatial analysis function of geographic information system (GIS) platform, frequency distribution of solar radiation intensity and PV potential in China can be derived. Furthermore, analytical results show that monocrystalline-silicon PV generation in the north-western and northern areas have reached a level of more than 200 kWh/(m2.a), making those areas be suitable for the development of PV system. However, the potential for southwest areas reaches a level of only 130 kWh/(m2.a). This paper can provide the baseline reference for solar energy development planning.

Projected changes in haze pollution potential in China: an ensemble of regional climate model simulations

Abstract. Based on the dynamic downscaling by the regional climate model RegCM4 from three CMIP5 global models under the historical and the RCP4.5 simulations, this article evaluated the performance of the RegCM4 downscaling simulations on the air environment carrying capacity (AEC) and weak ventilation days (WVDs) in China, which are applied to measure haze pollution potential. Their changes during the middle and the end of the 21st century were also projected. The evaluations show that the RegCM4 downscaling simulations can generally capture the observed features of the AEC and WVD distributions over the period 1986–2005. The projections indicate that the annual AEC tends to decrease and the annual WVDs tend to increase over almost the whole country except central China, concurrent with greater change by the late 21st century than by the middle of the 21st century. It suggests that annual haze pollution potential would be enlarged under the RCP4.5 scenario compared to the present. For seasonal change in the four main economic zones of China, it is projected consistently that there would be a higher probability of haze pollution risk over the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) region and the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region in winter and over the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region in spring and summer in the context of the warming scenario. Over Northeast China (NEC), future climate change might reduce the AEC or increase the WVDs throughout the whole year, which favours the occurrence of haze pollution and thus the haze pollution risk would be aggravated. The relative contribution of different components related to the AEC change further indicates that changes in the boundary layer depth and the wind speed play leading roles in the AEC change over the BTH and NEC regions. In addition to those two factors, the precipitation change also exerts important impacts on the AEC change over the YRD and PRD zones.

Estimates of energy demand and energy saving potential in China's agricultural sector

This paper analyzed the energy saving potentials of China's agricultural sector by using an econometric approach and a scenario analysis. First a co-integration analysis and an error correction model are employed to analyze the long-term equilibrium relationship between agricultural energy consumption and its influencing factors such as agricultural output, mechanical power, agricultural industrial structure, fiscal expenditure and energy prices during the period 1980–2012. Then stability test, fitting effect test and Monte Carlo simulation method are applied to confirm the rationality of the prediction model. Further, the scenario analysis method is used to predict the energy-saving potentials in 2020 and 2025 under different scenarios. It is found that agricultural output and mechanical power have positive impacts on energy consumption, while agricultural industrial structure, fiscal expenditure and energy prices have negative influences. The results demonstrate that under BAU condition, the energy demand of China's agricultural sector will reach 128, 94 and 161,61million tons of standard coal by 2020 and 2025 respectively. Moreover, the energy savings potential will be 7, 967 million tons and 15,701 million tons under moderate and advanced scenarios by the year 2020, and 17, 225 million tons and 31,094 million tons by the year 2025. This study provides a reference for establishing energy saving policies for China's agricultural sector.

Ocena pozycji walut kluczowych międzynarodowego systemu walutowego w latach 1990 – 2016 i perspektywy zmian

Celem artykułu jest analiza i ocena pozycji walut kluczowych jako czynnika determinującego zmiany w funkcjonowaniu międzynarodowego systemu walutowego. Metodyka obejmuje badania teoretyczne (analityczne studia literatury naukowej i raportów badawczych) oraz badania empiryczne (analiza danych statystycznych BIS, IMF, SWIFT, EBC, UNCTAD). Przeprowadzona analiza pozwala na stwierdzenie, że główną walutą międzynarodową pozostaje dolar, a utworzenie obszaru wspólnej waluty w UE nie doprowadziło do oczekiwanych zmian pozycji głównych walut i uzyskania przez euro pozycji drugiej waluty globalnej, konkurującej skutecznie z dolarem w pełnieniu funkcji pieniądza światowego. Ponadto, rosnący od lat potencjał gospodarczy i handlowy Chin oraz transformacja układu sił gospodarczych nie znajduje odzwierciedlenia w zmianie pozycji walut krajów rozwijających się w pełnieniu funkcji pieniądza światowego. Prezentowane scenariusze transformacji MSW nie dają jednoznacznej odpowiedzi co do zmian znaczenia walut kluczowych, ale wprowadzenie jednej globalnej waluty wydaje się być zbyt trudne w obecnych warunkach.

Smooth Integration of Gansu Wind Farm into the Grid Using the Stator Flux-Oriented Vector Method and Fuzzy Logic Control

Gansu province wind energy potential in China is around 237 GW. According to the schedule, 20 GW wind energy is connected to the grid by 2020. However, there is a chance of instability in the presence of big intermittency. To integrate this huge generated wind power, a reliable control strategy is required. The proposed portable power plant (PPP) energy storage system is fully compatible with a smart grid and mitigates the dispatching complexity and provides better designing and implementation of Gansu wind farm in China. In a two-way power flow, when the generation is bigger than the load demand, the additional power is stored in the PPP for future use, and when the demand is higher than the total generation, the stored power is applied to feed the grid. Also the PPP can charge the grid during peak demand periods or when the local network is stressed. An intelligent controller is linked with PPP to monitor the power flow. The stator flux-oriented vector method is used for modeling the system. Then, a fuzzy controller is applied to adjust the modulation index of PWM inverter and also uses energy storage units to stabilize the output of the power plant. Real field data of the Gansu wind farm with 24-h horizon have been applied on the proposed system. The results show the high performance of the fuzzy-based PPP system in the presence of fluctuations and increase the efficiency of the power system by storing energy through PPP. With a large-scale plan for application of smart grid and renewable energy sources in China, this paper introduces an essential step of this vision to provide a feasible framework for future large-scale smart grid projects in China as well as stable operation of Gansu wind farm as the biggest wind farm in mainland when it is completed.

The influences of spatiotemporal change of cultivated land on food crop production potential in China

The impact of changes in cultivated land on the production potential of food crops in China during the period of 1990–2010 was studied using land use data and the Global Agro-ecological Zones (GAEZ) model. The contribution of crop production potential per unit cultivated land area (PPCLA) to the total food-energy based production potential (TPP) of food crops was further investigated. From 1990 to 2010, China has experienced a net increase of cultivated land, resulting from a net increase in northern China and a smaller net decrease in the south. However, the TPP reduced by 9.64 × 1012 kcal despite an overall cultivated land increase for crops. This was attributed to the spatial heterogeneity of PPCLA in the cultivated land, whereby the average PPCLA of the newly cultivated land was much lower than that of the lost land. The PPCLA gap between the newly developed land and the lost cultivated land expanded from 3.16 × 106 kcal/ha in the first decade (1990–2000) to 6.49 × 106 kcal/ha in 2000–2010. Contributions of PPCLA to TPP varied among regions, and the regions with the largest contributions were consistent with those with the largest PPCLA gaps. Such regions included the Sichuan Basin and surrounding region in 1990–2000, and the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain during 2000–2010. Based on these research findings, key implications for land use policies in relation to major food crops in China are discussed.