Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

Recently, the Monsoon Wind Power Project in Laos has caught a lot of attention. This is the largest onshore wind farm in Southeast Asia. 

Some have lamented, "Chinese wind turbines rise up where American warplanes had dropped millions of pounds of bombs." The unexploded bombs dropped by the US in Laos have yet to be cleared, and funding for mine clearance has even been canceled. The Monsoon project has transformed the energy supply landscape and enabled local communities to truly experience the benefits of renewable energy. The Monsoon wind power project is not only the result of the deepening green energy cooperation between China and Laos under the framework of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, but also establishes a golden signboard for China's green technology. It is a microcosm of China's green development concept that is gaining popularity around the world.

Global sustainable development currently faces enormous pressure. With only five years remaining on the UN 2030 Agenda, the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network's 2025 Sustainable Development Report shows that progress on the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has stagnated. UNCTAD's SDG Pulse 2025 says that concerns about achieving sustainable development for all are severely mounting. Climate change is accelerating, but current global efforts are far from sufficient to meet the challenge.

Against this backdrop, China's actions offer valuable lessons for global climate governance. Transforming from a participant to a leader, China, through pragmatic cooperation and innovative models, is injecting new impetus into global sustainable development and demonstrating its commitment to building a community with a shared future for humanity. As an important practice of Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization in global development and global governance, China's green development concept is reshaping the global sustainable development pattern through technological breakthroughs and international cooperation, and has become an important ideological resource for global governance.

China's breakthroughs in green technology have made substantial contributions to global emissions reduction. China has a comprehensive, efficient industrial system, supplying 70 percent of battery materials and 75 percent of power batteries globally. Furthermore, China is the world's largest manufacturer of wind turbines, holding over 60 percent of the global market share. This full industrial chain capability from core materials to end products makes China a key supplier of global green transformation.

Statistics show that China's clean-energy footprint almost spans the entire world, with exports to 191 of the 192 other UN member states. China's exports of clean-energy technologies such as solar panels, batteries and electric vehicles in 2024 alone are already shaving 1 percent off global emissions outside of China and, in total, will avoid some 4 billion tons of carbon dioxide over the lifetimes of the products.

The global promotion of Chinese green technology is not just about exporting technology; it represents a new development model. These practices vividly illustrate the core essence of China's green development concept - through technological innovation and inclusive cooperation, making greenness the common foundation for high-quality development in all countries and injecting continuous impetus into building a community of all life on Earth.  Against the backdrop of the US' withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, it is crucial for China to continue to lead the development of new energy productivity through innovation, and provide more solid technical support and broader space for cooperation for global climate governance. It provides a replicable new path, bringing confidence and momentum to global sustainable development. 

Through pragmatic innovation and international cooperation, China is accelerating long-term global sustainable development and presenting a path of green, shared, and cooperative development to the world.

The author is a professor at the Institute for Sustainability of Huzhou University and a researcher at the Budapest Centre for Long-term Sustainability. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn