The opening ceremony of the 2023 World Power Battery Conference on June 9, 2023 in Yibin, Southwest China's Sichuan Province

Yibin in Southwest China's Sichuan Province is commonly known as the "capital of baijiu" (a type of Chinese liquor), but now it has a new title - China's first "capital of power battery." The 2023 World Power Battery Conference recently was held in the city, gathering new-energy experts and industry insiders from all over the world. 

With the goals of being "international, professional, market-oriented," the 2023 conference not only features forums, but also displays advanced designs such as the world's fastest battery charging device, latest model from Tesla and an intriguing design that allows a car to "go up to the sky." 

Hungary, one of the world's leading manufacturers of batteries, was the country of honor at the Yibin event. Other global participants included Panasonic from Japan and the South Korean company LG. Together, they revealed global companies' desire to work with China in this particular battery industry. 

China is indeed competitive in the world's new energy and power battery industries. 

In 2022, the cumulative load capacity of power batteries in China reached 294.6 GWh and accounted for 56.9 percent of global sales, Xin Guobin, the vice minister of China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said at the conference. 

The city of Yibin made significant contribution to this national achievement. 

Guo Yongxin, the secretary general of the China National Light Industry Council (CNLIC), said at the conference that the power battery industry in Yibin has "obvious advantages" due to its complete industrial chain, clear development path and strong development momentum, all of which are enhanced by local policy support. 

Approved by the Office of the President of CNLIC, the city of Yibin was officially awarded  the title of "China's Power Battery Capital" at the event.

The city has been fulfilling China's green and low-carbon development mission. Over 100 recycling projects and other assembly projects have been completed in the city. In 2023, it is estimated that the value of entire power battery industrial chain of Yibin will exceed 120 billion yuan ($16.7 billion). 

"Yibin has become one of the most complete supporting cities in China's power battery industrial chain," said Hua Shurui, a deputy mayor of Yibin.

Hua said that the city has always been firmly committed to the country's "green and low-carbon" development mission. 

Besides the battery industry, Hua also emphasized the city has rich eco-friendly resources and powerful scientific and research support. It is estimated that through continuous transformation and innovation in areas such as energy utilization, transportation, and logistics production and manufacturing, 400,000 tons of carbon emissions can be reduced annually. 

Aside from introducing Yibin's new title, the conference also reached a consensus that focused on global integration to highlight China's important role in the new-energy industry. 

Addressing topics such as the industry's "highly-quality development" and "enterprise growth power," Wan Gang, the president of the China Association for Science and Technology, said that China's new-energy vehicles (NEVs) are becoming the new momentum for China's economic growth that "cannot be ignored." 

China's power battery industry has established a complete industrial chain. As a leader in the global industry, China is able to produce even the most core materials such as electrolytes. Six of the world's top 10 battery companies are Chinese.

Yet more creative solutions are needed to remain competitive. 

Miao Wei, the deputy director of the Committee on Economic Affairs of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, said that power battery accounts for nearly 40 percent of the cost of an electric vehicle, so it is extremely important to "cut costs while improving efficiency." 

"The reserves of lithium mines resources in China are limited, but extracting lithium from salt lakes has great development potential," Miao remarked. 

Later than China, Europe's power battery industry started in 2017.

Despite this late start, Europe is still competitive in the global electric vehicle battery industry. 

Péter Szijjártó, the minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, sent his warm congratulations to the Yibin event. 

"Hungary and China are strategic partners. Hungary will continue to encourage Chinese investors to expand production capacity in Hungary and settle new European investment projects in Hungary," Szijjártó noted.

"With the rapid development of the NEV industry, the power battery industry has become an important force to promote green and low-carbon transition around the world," Wan noted.