Global oil shocks a wake-up call to accelerate pursuit of green growth

War has a way of making energy security feel suddenly intimate. The ongoing conflict in the Middle East has severely disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, sending oil prices soaring and pushing governments in Asia to make emergency moves. Sri Lanka has imposed fuel rationing and shortened the public workweek. India has cut industrial LPG supply to protect household cooking gas. The Republic of Korea has capped domestic fuel prices for the first time in nearly three decades. Oil supply shocks always cast a shadow on kitchens, commutes and family budgets.

China, too, has felt the pressure of higher oil prices. But things are a little different here. On Chinese highways, not all vehicles stop for oil. Some stop for recharging. Charging posts have become part of the urban landscape, be it in apartment compounds or in underground parking lots of shopping malls.

Kaixiangong village in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, has a "10-minute charging circle" and there's a "3-minute" one in its scenic area. What once looked like future infrastructure is already here, even in the countryside.