This article aims to illuminate the complexities involved in efforts to influence China's energy future. It brings forth three observations. First: China's authoritarian appearance is deceptive. Second: learning about concealed but pivotal actors and their motivations is not easy but important. Third: technology diffusion is obstructed by differences in expectations. Three summarising messages conclude the presentation, noting that in order to progress one needs to (i) look beyond official consensus, (ii) address differences in technology perceptions and (iii) be watchful of the inconclusiveness of synthesised information-such as projections of the future. These findings are the result of an analytic and China-oriented exploration of three adjoining fields, i.e. of actors and their different roles in decisionmaking, of two recent energy futures studies, and of conceptual frameworks for understanding technology. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.