Chinese President Xi Jinping announced that China will establish a Global Innovation and Knowledge Center for Sustainable Transport and develop a green and digital Belt and Road Initiative at a faster pace, as part of the country's broad contributions to the development of global sustainable transport. Xi made the announcement while addressing the opening ceremony of the UN Global Sustainable Transport Conference, which kicked off in Beijing and online on October 14. In his speech, Xi highlighted major changes and serious challenges caused by the Covid-19 pandemic to the global economy and people's lives and called for global cooperation in addressing issues in the transport sector. The conference aims to advance sustainable transport globally and is important to achieve the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Inefficient operations at U.S. ports have caused steep increases in shipping costs between China and the U.S. over recent months, as empty shipping containers did not make their way back to China fast enough. Sustainable transport also covers green energy promotion through technological innovation as many countries have set targets for tackling climate change. “It has become urgent to achieve safe, green, efficient, affordable and sustainable transport globally, and further measures must be taken to realize the transition to a sustainable transport model as soon as possible," said Bai Ming, Deputy Director of the International Market Research Institute at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation. By 2035, pure electric vehicles (EVs) are likely to become mainstream in China, now the world's largest NEV market, while those used in public transportation will be exclusively electrified, according to a development plan for the NEV industry for 2021-2035. The annual energy saved by green initiatives, including green cities and highways, has exceeded 630,000 tons of coal equivalent.
China leads the world in technology for railways that operate at high altitudes and in extremely low temperatures, and it is a global player in high-speed and heavy-haul railways, according to a white paper on China's sustainable transport development released last December. China will shift focus from speed and scale to quality and efficiency, from independent initiatives to integrated multimodal development, and from traditional drivers to innovative forces, said the White Paper, as reported by the Global Times.
