China Focus: China's green development experience offers global inspiration

CHENGDU, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Amid major global challenges such as climate change and energy shortages, China's experience in pursuing green development can offer useful inspiration to countries around the world, experts said.

They made these remarks at the Global Urban and Rural Development Forum of Boao Forum for Asia, which opened Friday in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province.

At the opening ceremony, Ban Ki-moon, chairman of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA), stressed that both urban and rural areas in Asia must pursue green development, noting that rural development can also be green, digital, and sustainable.

"In the implementation process of sustainable development goals, rural and urban areas should go together. China can demonstrate some good examples. This is what we want to learn and explain to other people around the world," Ban said in an interview with Xinhua.

China has long been committed to pursuing green development. At a roundtable discussion, Yu Zaiqing, vice president of the International Olympic Committee, shared details of China's experience in hosting two environmentally friendly Olympic Games.

"The two Olympics hosted by China adhered to the concepts of green, technological and cultural development, with green being the priority," Yu said. "Environmental protection is not only a prominent theme in today's society but also a significant issue for China's 1.4 billion people, and it has been elevated to unprecedented importance," Yu added.

China has set carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals, and actively addresses climate change challenges, and these initiatives have created an abundance of opportunities for international cooperation.

Uzbekistan has immense green energy potential, said Uzbekistan's Ambassador to China Farhod Arziev, while adding that China is a key partner of Uzbekistan in the fields of green energy and wind power.

At the forum in Chengdu, several participants have noted that Chinese new energy vehicles (NEVs) are gaining increasing popularity among consumers worldwide.

André González, an official from West Northamptonshire in Britain, has been impressed by the number of NEVs on roads in Chinese cities like Shanghai.

In Britain, electric vehicle development is still in the early stages, while China already has an astonishing range of NEVs, some with very high mileage capabilities, said González. "We look forward to building strong, lasting relationships with China in all areas," González added.

Statistics show that China generates nearly half of total global photovoltaic power capacity and is home to over half of the world's NEVs, while a quarter of the world's new green space comes from China.

Promoting diversification and modernization of rural economies and pushing green and high-quality rural development are proving hot topics at the event in Chengdu.

Former Slovenian President Danilo Türk noted that China's transformations and efforts in pursuit of rural development and balanced urban-rural green development, will have an impact on the world.

Jean-Pierre Raffarin, former French prime minister and member of the BFA Council of Advisors, meanwhile emphasized the need to reconsider rural development with the principle of fairness in mind, in order to ensure that rural residents receive the same services as their urban counterparts.