News Analysis: China's energy transition benefits world

BEIJING, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) -- China's resolute, sustained efforts in energy transition have made irreplaceable contributions to improving the well-being of humanity.

As a country home to 1.4 billion people, how China produces and consumes energy greatly affects the future of all people around the world.

A white paper titled "China's Energy Transition" released recently showcased historic achievements in its energy transition over the past decade and shared its practices with the world.

In 2023, clean energy consumption accounted for 26.4 percent of China's total energy use, up 10.9 percentage points from 2013.

Over the same 10-year period, China had one of the most rapid energy intensity reduction rates in the world, recording a 26 percent decrease. Its cumulative reduction of carbon dioxide emissions was approximately 3 billion tonnes.

China has been shifting from a resource-reliant energy development model to one driven by innovation. By applying an innovation-driven development strategy within its energy sector, it has achieved core technology breakthroughs and created new technologies, industries and business models.

What is more, China's new energy products have provided clean, reliable, affordable solutions to a world that faces the challenges of energy security and green, low-carbon transition.

Over the past decade, the global average kilowatt-hour cost of wind projects has fallen by more than 60 percent, and that of photovoltaic projects by 80 percent, largely due to China's contributions, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency.

The global new energy production capacity is not excessive; it is insufficient. In achieving the temperature control target proposed in the Paris Agreement, the production capacity of the global new energy industry is far from meeting market demand, especially in developing countries where potential demand is experiencing dynamic growth.

The global demand for new energy vehicles will reach 45 million units in 2030, which is three times the 2023 figure, and global power battery demand will hit 3,500 gigawatt hours, which is four times the level of global power battery shipments in 2023, according to the International Energy Agency.

China is committed to pursuing an energy transition, which will also create new opportunities for deepening international cooperation on clean energy. The country has implemented a foreign investment management system based on pre-entry national treatment and a negative list, and removed restrictions on foreign investment in all energy industries except nuclear power plants.

Multinational companies such as General Electric and Siemens have been steadily increasing their investment in China's energy sector.

As a responsible major developing country, China will continue to advance its energy transition and share its knowledge and experience with other nations for the development of global sustainable energy and the building of a community with a shared future for humanity.

For the future of the planet and all who live on it, countries should abandon all forms of unilateralism and trade protectionism, and work together to maintain the stability and smooth flows of the global energy industrial and supply chains.