This is a special contribution from the Centre on Contemporary China and the World at the University of Hong Kong. Read the full report at the end of the article. It will be available on the institute website cccw.hku.hk from October 13. With the rising strategic significance of energy, especially due to the need to support China’s artificial intelligence (AI) development, members of the Communist Party’s 20th Central Committee with energy backgrounds – the country’s “movers and shakers” in this...