China's lithium battery and photovoltaic industries continue to lead the global clean energy market, with both sectors posting double-digit growth in key metrics in 2024, according to data released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) on Thursday.
The lithium battery sector expanded significantly, with total output reaching 1,170 gigawatt-hours (GWh), a 24 percent year-on-year increase.
This growth propelled the industry's total value to surpass 1.2 trillion yuan (about 165 billion U.S. dollars), driven in part by a record 260 GWh of energy storage batteries, which surged by 40 percent year on year.
At the same time, the installed capacity of lithium batteries in new energy vehicles (NEVs) and energy storage systems saw a sharp increase, rising 48 percent to exceed 645 GWh.
1,200,000,000,000 Chinese Yuan equals 164,922,496,800.00 United States Dollar
Meanwhile, the photovoltaic industry also exhibited solid growth, with production across several key stages rising by over 10 percent year on year. Output of polysilicon -- the primary material used in solar panels -- along with silicon wafers, cells, and modules all saw notable increases, ensuring that the sector's total output value remained in the trillion-yuan range (over 137 billion U.S. dollars).
In terms of export, photovoltaic cells and modules saw respective growths of more than 40 percent and 12 percent, further solidifying China's role as a dominant player in the global solar energy market.
China's lithium battery, photovoltaic industries post double-digit growth in 2024
The U.S. claim to take control of Greenland is unacceptable and it aims to sow division within its NATO members and its natural allies in Europe to serve its own interests, said a Spanish expert.
In an interview with China Media Group (CMG), Spanish international relations expert Javier Porras Belarra said he could not understand the U.S. position on Greenland and found the related remarks unacceptable.
"From our point of view, these U.S. statements are equivalent to an infringement on European territory, because we must remember that Greenland belongs to Denmark. That means we are facing a conflict, or at least a potential conflict, taking place on European soil, and even more broadly, between NATO member states. So U.S. President Donald Trump's claims regarding Greenland were nearly impossible to justify or accept, and the European Union is viewing this with a certain amount of astonishment, because this kind of claim from the U.S. is inconceivable," he said.
The expert said the U.S. administration has been intensifying divisions within NATO through its policies and rhetoric, while weakening ties with traditional European allies.
According to the expert, the U.S. administration is trying to undermine European unity to advance its own interests.
"The U.S. administration is deepening divisions within NATO and eroding relationships with its traditional allies, namely European countries. This is a classic 'divide and conquer' strategy. They think this will work in their favor and believe a united Europe is not in the U.S. interests, or at least not in the interests of the current administration," he said.
U.S. claim to control Greenland creates division within European allies for its own interests: expert
