The western China, an important energy base for development strategy, exists a contradiction between abundant energy and frail environment, leading to a challenge in energy development. The energy development in western China, recently typified by “west gas to east” and “west electricity to east”, becomes a pillar industry in western China, so putting a pressure over eastern China’s environment, but deteriorating the western China’s. Some heavy industries like coal, power, smelt and chemical industries have been transferred to western China from eastern, promoting the economic growth on a basis of energy and investment, but rapidly consuming resources and destroying environment. This paper presents that a sustainable development of energy bases is a key point for a successful development of western China.
