Recently, false propositions targeting China's industrial production capacity, accompanied by fear-mongering narratives such as the "China shock," have hit news headlines in some Western media outlets. A China Media Group (CMG) commentary on Friday refuted these accusations with solid facts and remarks from international experts.
An edited English-language version of the commentary is as follows:
Speaking at World Energy Congress on Monday, Amin Nasser, chief executive of Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil producer, said that "A lot of what happened in solar panels is because of what China did in terms of reducing [prices]. We can see the same now in electric vehicles."
He said that China has made contribution to helping the west hit its net zero targets and played an important role in the global energy transition.
When the U.S. is hyping up China's "overcapacity" which hit the global market, Nasser's fair remarks represented the rational and objective understanding of the international community on the issue. What does China's green capacity mean for the world? Facts are the best answer.
Fundamentally speaking, the target of economic development is to improve people's livelihood. New energy products featuring green, high-performance and comfort conform to the consumer demand of the market, but at the same time, the cost is expensive for these products. With technological innovation and a complete industrial chain system, China has provided affordable solutions to the world and promoted the popularization of new energy products.
Take new energy vehicle as an example. A report of McKinsey and Company said that Chinese electric cars are about 20 to 30 percent cheaper than those produced by European manufacturers, not least because China takes about half as long to develop new models as Europe.
China's green production capacity provides global consumers with cost-effective products, alleviates the inflationary pressure caused by the lack of traditional energy, and truly benefits consumers.
Geoff Baxter, an Australian buyer who is attending the 135th China Import and Export Fair in Guangzhou, told The Real Point that "the development of China's new energy industry has promoted global competition, which ultimately benefits consumers."
For countries around the world, China's new energy capacity has brought new driving forces for development. At present, countries are actively promoting the upgrading of manufacturing and the transition to green, low-carbon technologies, creating a pressing demand for equipment and components essential for the development and utilization of new energy sources. As the world's largest renewable energy market and equipment manufacturer, China plays an important role.
Bloomberg News recently reported that "To the extent that there are grounds for hope around the energy transition right now, it's largely thanks to the availability of cheap, clean Chinese products." So far, China supplies 50 percent of the world's wind power and 80 percent of the world's photovoltaic equipment. From 2012 to 2021, the scale of China's green trade increased by 146.3 percent, injecting "green impetus" into global economic growth.
It is worth mentioning that in the process of energy transition, technological breakthroughs are key. Relevant experts told The Real Point that many countries which want to achieve green development are faced with bottlenecks such as immature new energy technologies and difficult integration.
Through innovative practices, Chinese enterprises have provided many innovative solutions to the world and promoted the world's technological progress and industrial upgrading.
Data shows that from 2011 to 2020, China accounted for almost 60 percent of the world's total environmental technology invention patent applications, making it the most active country in environmental technology innovation.
Meanwhile, China is working with other countries to promote technological progress through open cooperation and healthy competition.
Luca Battiloro, CEO of Ducati China, pointed out that China's advancements in new energy vehicle battery technology, engine technology, and other areas are obvious to all, with companies from various countries actively engaging in collaboration with China.
More importantly, China's green production capacity has also contributed a lot to addressing the challenge of global climate change.
The Paris Agreement's central aim is to keep a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrialization levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
However, the frequent occurrence of extreme weather around the world makes it more difficult to achieve the temperature control goals of the Paris Agreement. According to a report released late last year by the United Nations Environment Programme, the world needs to cut 2030 emissions by 28 percent to get on a path to achieve the 2 degrees Celsius goal of the Paris Agreement, with a 66 per cent chance, and 42 per cent for the 1.5 degrees Celsius goal.
As the largest developing country in the world, China has not only pledged to achieve carbon neutrality from carbon peak in the shortest time in global history, but also continued to contribute to the world's emission reduction.
In 2022, China's exports of wind power and photovoltaic products reduced carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 573 million tons in other countries, contributing to a total reduction of 2.83 billion tons globally. This accounted for roughly 41 percent of the global emissions reduction attributed to renewable energy during the same period.
In addition, China has helped other countries improve their capacity to cope with climate change through technical support, capacity building and financial assistance.
In 2023, the China-built Al Dhafra PV2 Solar Power Plant, the World's largest single-site solar power plant, was officially put into operation in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates. The power station can supply electricity to 160,000 households, thereby assisting Abu Dhabi in reducing carbon emissions by 2.4 million tons per year and increasing the share of clean energy in the UAE's energy mix by more than 13 percent.
In light of this reality, the purported "overcapacity theory" propagated by the United States and the West stands vulnerable. As numerous international voices have echoed, resorting to protectionism under the guise of "overcapacity" risks impeding the global energy transition process. The true challenge confronting the world lies not in an excess of green capacity, but rather in its insufficiency. China, in turn, is supplying a vital resource the world urgently requires.
Facts on China's green production capacity: commentary
