By Xinhua writers Han Qiao and Ren Ke
BEIJING, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- China has used fewer natural resources while increasing its GDP, and the country has managed it very well, a German expert said.
"China has consistently improved energy efficiency in its industries year after year," said Raimund Bleischwitz, scientific director of the Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research in Germany, in a recent interview with Xinhua.
The professor of global sustainable resources at the University of Bremen has been working on sustainable development for many years and has advised the European Commission and the British government. He has also collaborated on circular economy research with China's Shanghai Jiaotong University and other Chinese scholars.
"China's resource productivity has doubled since 1990, and its energy efficiency has risen too, thus lowering environmental pollution and carbon emissions," Bleischwitz noted.
Figures show that China's energy intensity has decreased steadily over the past decade, leading to energy savings equivalent to about 1.4 billion tonnes of standard coal and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by around 3 billion tonnes, according to the white paper on China's energy transition released last month.
Bleischwitz highlighted China's position as the world's largest investor in renewable energy, with the biggest production capacity globally. Additionally, China has emerged as the world's leader in electric vehicle production, which he found particularly impressive.
The white paper revealed that in 2023, China accounted for more than half of newly installed global renewable energy capacity. From 2014 to 2023, the global share of non-fossil fuels in energy consumption rose from 13.6 percent to 18.5 percent -- with China contributing 45.2 percent to this increase.
Bleischwitz said China and Germany both have a long tradition in circular economy, which dates back more than 20 years. He pointed out that one area of potential collaboration between energy and the circular economy lies in the circular design of renewable energy technologies, such as creating wind turbines and blades in a way that allows components like carbon fibers to be reused.
"This is the next frontier where both countries can benefit, given that China is the largest exporter of these technologies," he explained.
According to Bleischwitz, if China adopts an eco-design model with clear material specifications, like a "material passport" for renewable technologies, such materials could be reused and recycled in other countries, significantly contributing to global ecological civilization.
He also praised China's development of eco-industrial parks, noting that a significant portion of the country's production takes place in such parks, which play a much larger role in China compared to Germany and other countries in Europe.
"Within these industrial parks, the emergence of eco-industrial parks is particularly important," Bleischwitz said. "What we found interesting is the systematic assessment of these parks. Successful examples are scaled up in China. This mechanism of upscaling demonstration projects allows innovations to eventually become general standards."
Concerning climate change, Bleischwitz highlighted the need to look at the agriculture sector. He suggested that China could learn from the EU in the field of agro-photovoltaic systems, which combine producing green electricity with providing shade for crops during times of drought.
"This makes agriculture more energy independent as electricity is produced on farms. It also reduces water demand and helps to green agricultural vehicles," Bleischwitz explained.
Bleischwitz also applauded China's concept of ecological civilization, which calls for reflection on whether economic growth should always be prioritized, or whether a broader understanding of prosperity is needed.
He called for making the development of ecological civilization not just a long-term goal, but also part of annual reforms. "Finding alternatives beyond GDP as a measure of success is important for both Europe and China," he said. ■
