On March 5, at the first "Ministerial Channel" of the second session of the 14th National People's Congress, Yin Hejun, Minister of Science and Technology, mentioned that new energy vehicles, lithium batteries, and photovoltaic modules are what everyone calls the "three new things", which export growth rate were very gratifying.
Just recently, the German Handelsblatt published an article entitled "With these projects, China takes the lead in the field of green technology." The article pointed out that green technologies such as "New Three Things" have brought strong growth momentum to China. In the field of new energy vehicles, although German cars have long been regarded as international models of innovation and craftsmanship, Chinese brands such as Wenjie, BYD and Wuling have caught up in the electric vehicle field.
"Handelsblatt" said that the example of electric vehicles shows that China is catching up with the West in terms of future green technology. Whether it is the hydrogen economy, wind and solar energy, or energy efficiency in production, China is driven by green technology.
Philippe Kuperschmidt, an automotive expert at Accenture Management Consulting in Germany, said there is no difference in the quality of Chinese cars compared with German cars.
China leads the world in green patents
In January, Germany's Bertelsmann Foundation published a survey that compared the development of green technology in the United States, the European Union, China, Japan, and South Korea over the past 20 years by counting the number of relevant patents. The report titled "Green Technology Made in Germany" points out that China has risen rapidly in the past 20 years and become a leading country in green technology. Today, in a comparison of world-class patents, China ranks second, behind the United States. In terms of the speed of research progress, no other country can match China.
Data show that in the past five years, the number of world-class green patents in China has soared, from 11,000 to 37,000 per year. In comparison, the number of world-class patents in Germany in 2022 is only nearly 10,000.
The report also pointed out that China's technological level has improved significantly in almost 10 green technology fields include new energy, energy storage, hydrogen fuel economy, energy-saving machinery, efficient production, environmentally friendly materials and recycling since 2017. For example, on the topic of "environmental protection consumables and recycling", the number of patents obtained by China has almost doubled in the past five years, accounting for nearly 40% of the global share and leading the world. In terms of individual technologies, drinking water purification, battery recycling, and recycling of consumer goods such as cement, plastics, glass, and electrical appliances are also China's strengths.
Strategically deploy the “three new things” industries
"Handelsblatt" analysis pointed out that China's surge in the number of patents is due to China's long-term industrial and scientific research strategy. For a long time, the introduction and further development of circular economy has been an important part of the Chinese government's economic policy. Under the guidance of Chinese government policies and investment promotion, the development of circular economy has enabled China to increase resource productivity.
In recent years, the Chinese government has identified the “three new things”—new energy vehicles, lithium batteries, and photovoltaic modules—as new driving forces for economic growth. This development direction is reflected in China's patent applications, and in products and exports. This year's government work report pointed out that Shanghai will export 167.79 billion yuan of "three new things" products in 2023, an increase of 42.2%, accounting for 9.7% of the total export value in the same period, and increasing the overall export growth rate by 2.9 percentage points.
The article mentioned that electric car manufacturer NIO is one of the most modern car factories in the world, and its latest models are produced in Hefei. Hefei also attracts ambitious university students and researchers from across China.
China is also trying or considering new technologies in urban planning. For example, as early as 20 years ago, there were tram facilities on the east bank of the Huangpu River in Shanghai, which laid the foundation for the subsequent large-scale and rapid development of charging facilities.
Transformation from foundry to independent innovation
Handelsblatt also mentioned that China intends to turn Hefei, an unknown city with a population of one million, into a center for electric vehicles and other future industries. Hefei continues to attract domestic and foreign companies with complete supply chains. This cluster model is a powerful force, which help Chinese companies firmly entrenched in global supply chains. In the future, Chinese companies will not only be suppliers, but also manufacture high-tech products themselves.
Currently, Chinese cars are entering the European market. Accenture predicts that BYD will export 1 million vehicles to Europe by 2030, almost equal to the combined sales of BMW and Mercedes in Europe.
Patent statistics show China is grappling with the next electric vehicle challenges: battery recycling. Automotive expert Kupfer Schmidt said: "China has mastered most of the value chain from raw materials to battery technology. The battery accounts for about 40% of the cost of the vehicle. It is also a decisive factor in range and overall weight. Whoever has mastered the technology has an important competitive advantage. Now, six of the top ten battery manufacturers in the world are Chinese, including CATL, BYD and Chinalco.”
In addition to electric vehicles, the Bertelsmann Foundation analyzed that areas such as smart factories, high-speed rail and battery recycling are also supported by the Chinese government, which are likely to enter and occupy the international market in the future.
