Coal-fired power technology will play an important role over a long period in China. Clean coal-fired power technology is essential for the global GHG emission reduction. Recently, advanced supercritical (SC)/ultra-supercritical (USC) technology has made remarkable progress in China and greatly contributed to energy saving and emission reduction. This study analyzes the dynamics of SC/USC development in China from an integrated perspective. The result indicates that, besides the internal demand, the effective implementation of domestic public policy and technology transfer contributed greatly to the development of SC/USC technology in China. In future low carbon scenario, SC/USC coal-fired power technology might still be the most important power generation technology in China until 2040, and will have a significant application prospect in other developing countries. The analysis makes a very useful introduction for other advanced energy technology development, including a renewable energy technology, in China and other developing countries. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.