DgcityThe world’s climate negotiators have gathered in the Turkish coastal city of Antalya for COP31, and one question hangs over the conference halls: what role does China intend to play now that it is both the world’s largest emitter and its undisputed leader in clean-energy manufacturing? The summit arrives after a year of catastrophic floods, wildfires and record heat, and with several Western governments retreating from earlier climate ambitions.
The scale of China’s industrial position is difficult to overstate. It accounts for roughly 85 percent of global solar manufacturing capacity and about 80 percent of lithium-ion battery production, and nearly three quarters of electric cars manufactured in 2025 rolled off its assembly lines. Clean-technology exports surpassed 220 billion dollars last year and are on track to grow again, providing a rare bright spot in an otherwise sluggish economy. Analysis of its emissions has shown a flat or declining trend since March 2024.
Former US secretary of state John Kerry, in Antalya for the summit, said other countries — including the United States — risked both economic and climate damage if they failed to follow the pace China has set. He argued that rapid electrification and low-carbon power were now tied to industrial competitiveness, not just environmental obligation. China has indicated it wants the talks to address the free flow of green technology, a pointed position amid American and European tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and solar products.
At home, Beijing has put numbers behind its long-term pledges. Its 2035 climate targets include cutting economy-wide net greenhouse gas emissions by 7 to 10 percent from peak levels and raising non-fossil fuels to more than 30 percent of energy consumption. It is the first time China has committed to absolute reductions across all sectors and all greenhouse gases. A new resource-conservation plan also targets roughly 10 percent lower energy use per unit of GDP by 2030.
China used the conference pavilion in Antalya to release an English-language report presenting its green-development model to international readers. The gulf between its manufacturing heft and its traditional reluctance to lead global negotiations remains. The two weeks in Turkey will reveal whether self-interest, as much as diplomacy, now pushes it to bridge that gap.
