There is a group of Chinese firms with a little reputation outside China are quietly taking a dominant lead globally in some particular industries: energy and utilities. Among the top 5 of the most recent Fortune Global 500 list, three are Chinese and they are all 1) state-owned and 2) energy-related companies. Probably the sharp growth of China's energy state-owned enterprises (SOEs) is linked to the new era of ABC (A.I., Big Data, and Cloud Computing) and China’s long-term global strategy beyond the Belt and Road Initiative. Will the rise of China’s energy SOEs be the menace of reality or the menace of unreality? Will China be exposed as a phantom hiding behind the false facade or emerge as a genuine public leader? Everyone is keeping a close watch on China making its fateful choice: whether to become a global hegemon or to remain as a good global citizen.