Amin H. Nasser, CEO of Saudi Aramco, one of the world's largest oil companies, said: “Many advances in the solar panel industry stem from China's efforts to reduce costs. “A similar situation is seen in electric automotive.” said. In his speech at the 26th World Energy Congress, Nasser stated that China's new energy sector helps Western countries achieve the "zero carbon emission" target and plays an important role in the global energy transformation.
While some Americans provoked China's claim of "excessive production capacity" and said that this was a blow to the world market, Nasser's statement once again reflected the rational and objective understanding of the international community on this issue. What does China's green industry mean for the world? The truth is actually the best answer.
Economic growth aims to improve people's living standards. More importance is given to the environmental friendliness, function and comfort of new energy products. These features meet the consumption demand of the market. But there are still problems such as high costs. China's technological innovation drive and completed industrial chain have accelerated the popularization of new energy products, offering an acceptable solution to the world.
Let's take a look at new energy vehicles. According to a research report by McKinsey & Company, the prices of Chinese electric vehicles are approximately 20-30 percent cheaper than the prices of EU-made electric vehicles. One reason is that China saves up to 50 percent of R&D time for new model vehicles compared to European companies. Therefore, China's green manufacturing power has reduced the inflationary pressure caused by traditional energy shortage by providing affordable products to global consumers. Thus, consumers can also have economical products.
Today, countries around the world are making efforts to accelerate the transformation of the manufacturing sector and green and low-carbon industry. For this reason, priority is given to R&D and usage studies on relevant hardware and spare parts. China, the world's largest renewable energy market and hardware manufacturing country, contributes greatly to this issue. In an article recently published by Bloomberg, it was stated that the expectation for the global energy transition is largely due to China providing low-priced clean products. China supplies 50 percent of the world's wind power equipment and 80 percent of photovoltaic equipment. Between 2012 and 2021, China's green trade volume increased by 146.3 percent, adding environmentally friendly momentum to the world economy.
According to data, between 2011 and 2020, China's copyright applications on environmental technology approached 60 percent of the world's total copyright applications. However, China is accelerating the advancement of technology together with other countries with an open cooperation approach and a positive competition system.
China, the largest developing country in the world, is helping to reduce carbon emissions in the world, as well as pledging to reach the carbon neutral target from the carbon peak in the shortest time in history. The wind energy and photovoltaic products exported by China in 2022 enabled many countries to reduce carbon dioxide emissions of 573 million tons. China has also helped other countries increase their ability to combat climate change, such as providing technical support, upgrading capacity and providing financial assistance. In 2023, the world's largest solar power plant, built by a Chinese company in the depths of the desert south of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, came into service. The power plant can meet the electricity needs of 160 thousand households. Abu Dhabi's annual carbon emissions will also be reduced by a further 2,4 million tonnes.
The "excessive production capacity" claim put forward by Western countries, including the USA, is quite weak in the face of facts. Those who practice trade protectionism using this theory will only slow down the global energy transition process. The real problem facing the world is not the excess of green production power but the insufficiency of this power. China produces these products that the world urgently needs.