With the support of Energy Foundation China (EF China), China EV100, a non-for-profit platform for electric vehicle (EV) researchers, carmakers, and regulators, held an international cooperation forum about the carbon neutrality transition of the transport sector at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse on March 26, 2022, for 24 experts from the government, academia, enterprises, and civil society organizations. They discussed on the new challenges and opportunities brought by the decarbonization of the global automobile sector, the key areas for international cooperation, the major opportunities for multinationals to get involved in China’s EV transition, intelligent EV deployment in China, and the opportunities and strategies in overseas markets. More than 50 media outlets like cctv.com, huanqiu.com, and sina.com reported on the forum, and 3.86 million audience watched the meeting via livestreaming.

The forum was graced by Zhenhua XIE, China’s Special Envoy on Climate Change; Yizhong LI, former Minister of Industry and Information Technology; Xuenong HUANG, Regulatory Director of the National Energy Administration; Mary Bruce Warlick, Deputy Executive Director of the International Energy Agency; Hongpeng LIU, Director of the Energy Division of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific; David Sandalow, former Deputy Secretary of the United States Department of Energy; and enterprise representatives from BAIC Group, BMW Group, Panasonic, ABB Group, Shell, BP Group, SPIC, General Motors, Volvo, Bosch, and Infineon Technologies. They delivered speeches on topics such as the decarbonization pathway of the automotive industry, the full electrification of vehicles, the coordination of automotive and energy sectors, EV and battery technologies, critical earth elements, and corporate visions. Ministers XIE and LI recognized that deploying EVs sustains the global trend of the green and low carbon transition of the automobile industry and it is an important field for international cooperation on climate change and decarbonized growth. Ji ZOU, CEO & President of EF China, spoke highly of what China had achieved in vehicle electrification, but also pointed out that electric trucks lagged behind. China should provide stable financial and taxation support, introduce an EV credit policy for commercial vehicles as soon as possible, and develop charging infrastructure in advance, so as to embrace the full electrification, he said.

This was the fourth time that EF China had consecutively supported China EV100’s annual forums. EF China will continue to support the platform’s full electrification studies and international dialogues, in an effort to promote cross-cutting cooperation between automobile and information, energy, and transportation sectors. We hope the effort will help China seize the opportunities amid a global transition toward zero emissions in transportation, and thus contribute to the early achievement of carbon neutrality in China.