Overseas investors find sweet spots in China’s green transition

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BEIJING, July 27(ABC): Foreign enterprises have ridden the wave of China’s green transition over the past decade, as the country’s long-term pursuit of low-carbon and sustainable growth nurtures new business opportunities. From announcing “dual carbon” goals to advancing its national carbon market, China’s concrete efforts toward green development help energize related sectors, including the low-carbon transformation of traditional industries, new energy vehicles (NEVs), a circular economy and green finance.

“China’s carbon emission peak and carbon neutrality goals point the way for future development, providing us with a broader platform and new opportunities,” Yin Zheng, executive vice president of Schneider Electric and president of Schneider Electric China, told Xinhua in an interview. China has seen remarkable progress in energy saving and carbon reduction over the past decade.

By 2021, China’s energy consumption per unit of GDP had plunged 26.2 percent from 2012. “Green and decarbonization transitions have huge market potential in China,” Yin said, adding that the Chinese market gets more important than ever for Schneider Electric.

China has become Schneider Electric’s second-largest market globally and is currently one of its four largest R&D bases around the world. The company will continue to increase its investments in China. In particular, it is looking to further localize its supply chain, innovation and ecosystem to better facilitate the green transition of Chinese industries, Yin said. Like Schneider Electric, many global investors have shown a growing appetite for China’s green development.

A bright spot in this area is the rapidly evolving NEV industry, where overseas carmakers are expanding their footprints. Official data shows that China’s cumulative sales of NEVs had topped 11.08 million units by the end of May this year, skyrocketing from only 20,000 units by the end of 2012. Its NEV output and sales have ranked first globally for seven consecutive years since 2015.