Illustration: Liu Xidan/Global Times

Profound changes in geopolitical and economic patterns have led to significant restructuring in global energy supply and demand in recent years. As countries around the world are proactively adjusting energy structure to embrace clean and low-carbon energy, China's State Council Information Office on Thursday released a white paper titled "China's Energy Transition" to document the country's successful actions and historic achievements in this field over the past decade. 

Currently, China is the largest energy producer and consumer in the world. To some extent, China's energy security is closely related to that of the world. The world's energy transition won't be able to happen without China. By investing heavily in energy transition, China has played an important role in advancing global efforts to address energy challenges and environmental issues.

President Xi Jinping put forward a new energy security strategy featuring "four reforms and one cooperation" in 2014. Over the past decade, China has deeply advanced the reform in energy production and consumption, and made historical achievements in the development of green and low-carbon energy. China's current achievements in energy transition and breakthroughs in renewable energy are owed largely to its technological innovation and the large-scale development of its manufacturing industry. 

It has a highly efficient and coordinated manufacturing network to provide comprehensive support for the development of every aspect of the renewable energy industrial chain. After years of practical experience and development, China now boasts a relatively complete industrial and supply chain in hydroelectric, wind, solar power, biomass energy, new energy storage and electric vehicles.

At the same time, the development of China's renewable energy industry relies on domestic market openness and extensive international cooperation.

China has opened up its domestic market to foreign investment in the energy sector. Multinational companies like General Electric, BP and Siemens have steadily increased their energy investments in China, while foreign car manufacturers such as Tesla, Volkswagen, BMW and Toyota have heavily invested in electric vehicle production in China. 

Furthermore, China supports foreign investment in renewable energy and international production capacity cooperation, with continuous growth in foreign contracts for renewable energy projects. 

It should be noted that China's continuous technological innovation, enhanced industrial and supply chain systems, and significant market advantages have considerably lowered the economic costs of renewable energy, driving global energy transformation. Over the past decade, the average cost per kilowatt-hour for wind and photovoltaic power generation has dropped by more than 60 percent and 80 percent, respectively. A significant part of this cost reduction is due to China's progress in innovation, manufacturing, and engineering in these fields.

Additionally, through the Belt and Road Initiative, China has fostered green, low-carbon energy cooperation with other countries, developing numerous projects in hydropower, wind power and photovoltaics. The cost reductions in cleaner energy have challenged the idea that renewable energy is more expensive. As a result, renewable energy has become more affordable, not just for developed countries but also for many developing nations. This affordability is helping these countries progress toward energy transformation.

As China continues to integrate into the international energy market, it is also making new contributions by building platforms for high-level energy cooperation and leading global energy governance reforms. By building regional energy cooperation platforms, deepening dialogues with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and creating energy "clubs" within the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and BRICS, China aims to be a driving force in global energy transformation. China can serve as a communicator between energy exporters and consumers, stabilize fossil energy supplies and green energy development, and contribute to eliminating international energy poverty and addressing global climate change.

The author is the executive director of the Russia-Central Asia Research Center and deputy dean of the School of Marxism of China University of Petroleum. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn