Interview: New quality productive forces advance UN Sustainable Development Goals, says former UN Under-Secretary-General

by Xinhua writers Yin Xiaosheng, Li Jizhi

BRUSSELS, June 20 (Xinhua) -- China's effort to develop "new quality productive forces" injects new momentum into achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals, said Erik Solheim, co-chair of the Europe-Asia Center and former under-secretary-general of the United Nations.

The concept of "new quality productive forces" was first proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2023, which encapsulates China's successful combination of technological innovation and green development, he said, adding that China's effort in this regard is crucial for the global green transformation.

He cited the Kela hydro-photovoltaic power station in China's Sichuan province as an example. As the world's largest and highest-altitude hydro-solar plant, Kela can charge 15,000 electric vehicles with a 550-km range in just one hour.

"China is now the core of global green development and an indispensable force in the global green transformation," said Solheim, noting that countries seeking green development without cooperating with China will "pay more time and cost."

Solheim highlighted China's role in high-tech industries, saying that alongside Silicon Valley, "China is the other center of industrial and high-tech development in the world."

He said Chinese companies supply nearly 60 percent of the global green product market, including the photovoltaic industry, driven by continuous technological innovation.

According to Solheim, China has been a leading scientific nation and "better suited than the West to combine science with production," enabled by a strong government, a unified large market, an improved industrial ecosystem, and a large highly educated workforce. These factors reduce its cost from R&D to production.

"China has established a collaborative structure, with a closer link between the scientific institutions and production. And the Chinese government is actively working with sci-tech enterprises and research institutes to explore the transformation of cutting-edge technologies into market-oriented products," Solheim said.

Commenting on the recent EU tariff hikes on Chinese electric vehicle companies, Solheim argued that "Chinese tech companies are making better and cheaper cars, and their counterparts are struggling with the competition. The only real answer for the West is to start getting up early, making better products, and improving their competitiveness instead of complaining about China." (Li Ruojia contributed to the story)