Beijing ? Former President Clinton urged China on Saturday to recognize the urgency of the environmental threats to its growth, and to use the Internet as a tool to surmount them. But he remained silent on the risks faced by those who use the Internet as a forum for dissent.

“You will have to come to grips with significant challenges to your growth,” Clinton said at an Internet conference in this eastern resort city. He warned that the energy consumption required to keep China’s economy growing at its recent rate of more than 9 percent is “unsustainable.”

China’s oil imports have soared as it struggles to keep booming industries growing. Its continued strong growth, and that of the rest of the world, will depend on its ability to find alternative energy sources, Clinton said.

Clinton was the keynote speaker at a conference hosted by Yahoo’s new Chinese partner, Alibaba.com.