In a recent CGTN Global Watch interview, Professor YIN Haitao from Antai College of Economics and Management at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, offered insights into China's renewable energy transition.

Professor YIN highlighted China's commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by 2060, noting the country's success in surpassing its 2030 wind and solar capacity target six years early. He emphasized the industry's consensus on carbon neutrality and the economic opportunities presented by the transition.

Discussing China's $676 billion investment in energy transition in 2023, YIN stressed the importance of technological innovation. He cited CATL's 70-billion-yuan investment in innovation over the past decade as an example of China's commitment to advancing renewable energy technology.

Despite progress, YIN identified two key challenges: increasing international trade barriers and the domestic challenge of integrating renewable energy into the existing power grid. He emphasized the need for continued technological and operational innovations to address these issues.

Here is the transcript of the interview:

CGTN: For some analysis into China's transition to new energy, Professor YIN Haitao of Business, Economics and Public Policy is joining us. Professor Yin is also the Vice Dean of the Antai College of Economics and Management at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Professor, welcome to Global Watch. China, as we just heard, has another benchmark. Wind and solar capacity have surpassed a target almost six earlier than planned. How does this reflect on China's green transition efforts?

Prof. YIN: China's transition to renewable energy is driven by China's firm commitment to carbon neutrality. As we all know, we are going to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, according to a report from International Energy Agency. In order to achieve carbon neutrality, China needs to shift its electricity generation from almost 70 percent from fossil fuels to 70 percent from renewable energy. And we have to finish this in only 40 years. It's not easy. Clearly, we did a pretty good job. In the last few years, renewable energy is booming in China, reaching 1.2 billion kilowatts. This number was a goal we set up in 2020 for the year of 2030. We achieved this goal six years ahead of time. This evidence is that industry sectors have a consensus in carbon neutrality, and at the same time, the industrial sectors also see the transition to renewable energy as a big economic opportunity.

CGTN: The White Paper says that China's investment in energy transition reached 676 billion US dollars in 2023. That makes it the world's highest investor in this field. So how could these investments have been allocated, and what's their significance? Because you can go a lot of different ways. You can go for wind, you can go for geothermal, you can go for hydroelectric. Where do you go?

Prof. YIN: Yes. Of course, we spend money on renewable power plants, as you mentioned, the wind, solar, geothermal. But I'm going to emphasize the investment on technological innovation is unprecedented. For instance, CATL, the leading battery company, spent about 70 billion Chinese yuan on innovation in the last 10 years. It has this investment that ensures China's technological advancement in renewable energy. Because we are leading in technology, the export of renewable products is also booming. Electrical vehicles, lithium battery and solar panel, these three products, we put them together, the export reached 1,000 billion Chinese yuan last year. We are proud of this.

CGTN: Professor, although its use is declining, fossil fuels, we have to talk about this, are still in the country's energy mix, coupled with politicizing climate change and escalating trade barriers such as tariffs on electric vehicles. What are the main challenges to see ahead for China?

Prof. YIN: Yes, I think we have two key challenges. Internationally, as you said, we see that trade barriers for China's renewable products, renewable technology, are increasing. Domestically, we must make sure that the large amount of electricity that we generated from renewable energy can be smoothly fed into the grid. For this innovation, both technological innovation and operational innovation, I think, is critically important. Thank you!

For the original interview: https://www.cgtn.com/tv/replay?id=BfEIaIA

About Professor YIN Haitao

Professor YIN Haitao holds a Ph.D. from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and has held positions at prestigious institutions including the University of Michigan. His research focuses on environmental and energy economics and policy. Yin has led significant research projects and published in top academic journals, receiving numerous awards including the National Science Fund for Excellent Young Scholars.

As China advances its green energy goals, Professor Yin's insights provide valuable perspective on the complex interplay of economic development, environmental sustainability, and policy implementation in the renewable energy sector.