During the 75th United Nations General Assembly in September 2020, President Xi pledged that China will scale up its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) by adopting more vigorous policies and measures, striving to have carbon dioxide emissions peak before 2030 and to achieve carbon neutrality before 2060. In December 2020, the State Council Information Office published a White Paper titled Energy in China’s New Era. The aim is to “provide a full picture of China’s achievements in its energy development [between 2012 and 2019] and its major policies and measures for energy reform”. In this note, we summarizes the White Paper, and then offers some policy-related insights. Mitigating unintended impacts and potential risks, and promoting a fair energy transition are underlined in points for further reflection. In addition, the annex presents a visual summary of the White Paper with simplified technical concepts to facilitate reading for a non-specialised audience.