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The East China Sea (ECS) is one of the region's most significant and oft-times under-addressed potential flashpoints. In this article we take a holistic approach and reexamine the recent actions of East Asia's two most significant powers, China and Japan, in relation to this important body of maritime space, as well as those of the United States (US), as the incumbent regional hegemon. Specifically, we examine the efficacy of each. This highlights a dynamism in Chinese actions, as well as elucidating how the US and Japan have come to adopt policies that are of dubious efficacy as a means of alleviating or nullifying the escalation of unwanted tensions across the ECS. In so doing, we draw upon two key concepts, immobilism and confirmation bias, that help us to understand why the US and Japan are failing to achieve their assumed objectives of regional stability and the maintenance of the status quo. Ultimately, we argue that a combination of immobilism and confirmation bias in American and Japanese foreign policy, in response to the greater dynamism and adaptability of regional great powers such as China, has led to latent changes in the status quo that risk undermining stability across the ECS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) technology is an important means to effectively reduce carbon emissions from fossil energy combustion and industrial processes. With the crisis of climate change, CCUS has attracted increasing attention in the world. CCUS technology as developed rapidly in China is technically feasible for large-scale application in various industries. The R&D and demonstration of CCUS in China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) are summarized, including carbon capture, carbon transport, CO2 enhanced energy recovery (including oil, gas, and water, etc.), and comprehensive utilization of CO2. Based on the source-sink matching characteristics in China, two CCUS industrialization scenarios are proposed, namely, CO2-EOR, CO2-driven enhanced oil recovery using centralized carbon sinks in East China and CO2-EWR, CO2-driven enhanced water recovery (EWR) using centralized carbon sources from the coal chemical industry in West China. Finally, a CCUS industrialization path from Sinopec's perspective is suggested, using CO2-EOR as the major means and CO2-EWR, CO2-driven enhanced gas recovery (CO2-EGR) and other utilization methods as important supplementary means. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]