Recently, energy transition is an essential element for global development and needs the attention of recent researchers and policymakers. Thus, the present research investigates the impact of natural resources (total natural resources rent and natural gas rent) and economic factors (energy import, economic growth, and population growth) on the energy transition in China. Secondary data were collected from world development indicators (WDI) from 1971 to 2019. The Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) test, Phillips–Perron (PP) test, Kwiatkowski–Phillips–Schmidt–Shin (KPSS) and “zivot-andrews structural break unit root” test was also utilized to check for stationarity among the autoregressive distributed lag model (ARDL) along with the error correction model (ECM) were used to examine the relationships between constructs. The results found that natural resources (total natural resources rent and natural gas rent) and economic factors (energy import, economic growth, and population growth) have a positive association with energy transition in China. The study concluded that energy transition is the essential requirement due to high usage of natural resources and high economic development. These results are helpful for energy sector regulators when formulating the rules and regulations related to energy transition in the country. •Energy transition is the necessary element for high global development and control over environmental degradation globally.•The usage of natural resources leads towards the energy transition.•The economic factors such as economic growth, population growth and energy import also force the energy transition due to high carbon emission.•The regulators must provide the effective policies regarding implementation of energy transition worldwide.