65% of China's energy production is from coal. They're probably even less likely to have the political ability to meet these goals, given how much of the country's infrastructure relies on coal for basic functioning (like even home heating).
See page 6 of this report from the international energy agency: https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/18a6041d-bf13-4667-...
And they appear to be one of the few nations currently pursuing expansion in next generation nuclear reactors that cannot be weaponized: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02459-w
Or is there something particularly thorny about this that could cause massive civil unrest if he were to take that step?
As China continues to modernize and become more energy-intensive, that power has to come from somewhere. If he bans coal too early or restricts it too much, progress that the people saw happening and intensely want could slow dramatically.
People will follow a strong dictator as long as they don’t see a much better path. If they see a much better path, support will wane quickly and possibly in an ugly fashion.