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
Iran's official news agency IRNA said on Sunday the country has rejected taking part in the second round of the peace talks with the United States, after U.S. President Donald Trump said new negotiations would take place in Pakistan on Monday evening.
"My Representatives are going to Islamabad, Pakistan -- They will be there tomorrow evening, for Negotiations," Trump wrote in his Truth Social post on Sunday.
Trump also said that the U.S. has offered a "fair and reasonable" deal, and if Iran reject the deal, the U.S. will "knock out every single Power Plant, and every single Bridge, in Iran."
Iran's absence from the second round of talks "stems from what it called Washington's excessive demands, unrealistic expectations, constant shifts in stance, repeated contradictions, and the ongoing naval blockade, which it considers a breach of the ceasefire," IRNA said in a post on its English account on social media platform X.
In another report published in Farsi, IRNA said reports released about the second round of peace talks between Tehran and Washington in Islamabad are "not true."
It described the reports released by the United States as part of a "media game and in line with the blame game" to pressure Iran, stressing that the U.S. "excessive, illogical and unrealistic demands, frequent changing of positions, constant contradictory remarks, continuation of the so-called naval blockade" have so far prevented the negotiations' progress.
IRNA added under the present circumstances, there is "no bright prospect" for fruitful negotiations.
On Feb. 28, Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and several other Iranian cities, killing Iran's then Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, along with senior military commanders and civilians. Iran responded by launching waves of missile and drone strikes targeting Israel and U.S. bases and assets in the Middle East, and exercising tight control over the Strait of Hormuz.
A ceasefire was achieved between the warring parties on April 8, which was followed by lengthy talks between the Iranian and U.S. delegations in Pakistan's capital Islamabad on April 11 and 12. After the peace negotiations in Islamabad collapsed, the United States imposed its own blockade on the waterway.
The Iranian and U.S. delegations were reportedly expected to hold another round of peace talks in Pakistan soon.
Trump affirms new round of talks in Pakistan while Iran rejects
