Although China's ascend[sic] on the world stage is assured, a hurdle that has the potential to become its chokepoint is the fact that the country has few indigenous energy sources, other than highly polluting coal, in a world of galloping consumption with dwindling exhaustible resources. In order to tackle this challenge of finite energy, China will have to muster its own resources and shirk its need for world popularity and acceptance, embark on a number of tough and perhaps internationally unpopular tasks while retaining its responsibility to its own people and, to a large extent, the rest of the world.