The Ambassador presented the Chinese perspective on energy transition and indicated potential areas of Polish-Chinese cooperation, including new energy sources, energy storage, green industrial fuels, and solutions for heating systems.
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Transcript of the speech delivered by His Excellency Lu Shan, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Poland, during the 41st Interdisciplinary Scientific Conference “Geopolitics and the Chinese Question”, organized by the Transformation, Integration and Globalization Economic Research Center TIGER on 26 May 2026 at Kozminski University in Warsaw.
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I am very pleased to visit Kozminski University today. “Science should be practical and suited to its times” is an idea that guides Kozminski University. It reflects the important role that a good university should play in society: to think about the future and to have the courage to shape it. In times of rapid change, this is not easy.
How can we find the right direction in a world full of transformation? This is a question faced today by states, nations, and each of us individually.
China has its own perspective and vision for the future. In our country, we are currently implementing the objectives of the Fifteenth Five-Year Plan, whose foundations are high-quality development and a high level of openness to the world. We are deepening reforms, supporting technological innovation, improving the quality of life of our citizens, and accelerating the green transition, consistently advancing Chinese-style modernization.
Internationally, we firmly oppose a return to the law of the jungle in international relations. We support an equal and orderly multipolar world and a more just and open economic globalization, calling for the building of a community with a shared future for humanity.
Chinese ideas and China’s development can bring more stability and predictability to the world. We want not only to support common development through international cooperation, but also to jointly respond to the challenges that this development brings. Today’s world is experiencing many tensions and crises. Recent events in the Middle East have affected energy security and global supply chains. Energy has once again become an urgent and highly relevant issue.
That is why today I would like to speak with you about China’s experience in energy transition and about the possibilities for energy cooperation between China and Poland.
Energy is the foundation of modern society. Both the steam engine and coal during the First Industrial Revolution, and electricity during the Second Industrial Revolution, proved that every great leap in the development of civilization has been linked to an energy revolution.
Today, with the development of photovoltaics, wind power, batteries and energy storage, we once again find ourselves at a crucial moment of a new energy transition. The nature of the energy sector is changing profoundly: from a model based primarily on natural resources to one based on technology and industrial capabilities. In China, energy transition is closely connected with high-quality development. It not only strengthens the country’s energy security, but also provides a lasting, green impulse for the development of new productive forces.
What does China’s experience consist of?
In 2014, President Xi Jinping presented a new energy security strategy based on a “revolution in energy consumption, energy production, energy technologies, the energy governance system, and comprehensive international cooperation.” In 2020, China committed itself to peaking CO₂ emissions before 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality before 2060. This commitment set a long-term timetable for the country’s green transition.
Between 2012 and 2024, China’s average annual growth in energy consumption was 3.4%, while the economy grew by an average of 6.1% per year. At the same time, the energy intensity of the economy decreased by a total of 27.1%. In 2025, the clean energy sector grew by 18% and accounted for approximately 11.4% of China’s GDP, becoming one of the main drivers of economic growth. China has created the world’s largest clean energy system and has the most complete new energy industry chain.
China supplies more than 80% of the world’s photovoltaic modules and 70% of wind power equipment. For ten years, it has also ranked first in the world in the production and sales of electric vehicles. Technologies such as ultra-high-voltage transmission and advanced nuclear power are among the world’s leading solutions. Analyses also show that CO₂ emissions in China have not increased for the second year in a row.
At present, the construction of a new energy system in China is entering a crucial stage. In line with the latest Fifteenth Five-Year Plan, China will continue to increase the share of non-fossil energy, strengthen technological innovation, and develop energy storage, hydrogen, smart power grids and digital energy systems. Through reform of the energy market and the improvement of market mechanisms, we will strive to make better use of energy resources and to combine economic development, energy security and emissions reduction.
Why can China’s experience be important for Poland?
According to its plans, Poland intends to restructure its energy system over the next 20 years. This is an ambitious goal, and its implementation will depend on the ability to pursue a consistent policy despite a complex international environment.
However, both in Poland and across the European Union, the direction of energy transition has already been set. China and Poland also face similar challenges: long-term dependence on coal, high industrial demand for energy, strong sensitivity to issues of energy security, and concerns about the costs of a transition that is too rapid. I believe that the value of China’s experience does not lie in copying specific solutions, but in the very way of thinking about transition.
First, China has shown that the development of new energy sources can go hand in hand with industrial modernization and economic growth.
Second, thanks to large-scale production, it has been possible to reduce the costs of transition and make green energy more accessible.
Third, investments in transmission grids, digital power grids and energy storage have helped solve the problem of supply stability amid the growing share of solar and wind energy.
Fourth, the development of domestic energy technologies has increased the country’s energy security and independence.
In other words, energy transition can take into account security, development and social justice at the same time. It can not only drive economic growth, but also increase industrial competitiveness.
What are the opportunities for Chinese-Polish cooperation?
At the trade level, the scale advantage of China’s new energy industry can help Poland reduce the costs of transition and accelerate its pace. In European countries that began the green transition earlier, such as the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and Norway, Chinese photovoltaic modules, batteries and electromobility solutions are already widely used and proven in practice. For Poland, cooperation with China may mean not only a more efficient and cheaper transition, but also the creation of a more diverse and healthier energy market.
At the industrial level, China and Poland can jointly develop value chains in the new energy sector. Poland has solid industrial foundations and a favorable location, while Chinese companies have advanced technologies and industrial experience. With appropriate policy support, industrial cooperation can bring Poland investment, new jobs and increased economic competitiveness.
In the field of technology and exchange of experience, both sides can jointly seek solutions best suited to Poland’s conditions. Scientific and research cooperation is possible in areas such as solar energy, energy storage, green industrial fuels and regional heating systems.
The differences in resource potential between individual regions of China are significant, which translates into a rich and diverse range of actions undertaken as part of the green transition, from the construction of modern energy networks, through the development of industrial clusters, to the search for low-emission heating solutions. As a result, the scope of topics for mutual exchange of experience and good practices between China and Poland at the local government level is extremely broad.
How should we view risk and cooperation?
When we talk today about energy cooperation, technology and the market, we are in fact talking about something deeper. We are talking about how to develop openness and cooperation in a reasonable way. China and Poland differ in many respects, but both countries must seek a stable path of development in an increasingly uncertain world. Good decisions should take risks into account, but they must be based on facts and rational thinking.
In recent years, discussion about international cooperation has become more difficult than before. Emotional and politicized narratives often make it harder to access reliable information and make sound decisions. The greatest paradox is that sometimes people speak of “risk reduction” before cooperation has even had the chance to truly develop. Meanwhile, energy security and supply chain security require, above all, diversity of choice, fair competition and the resilience of the entire system. The point is not to “limit cooperation”. Quite the opposite: it is to build, through cooperation, an open, diverse and healthy market environment that allows for independence of choice.
Today, Poland is already among the world’s twenty largest economies. At the end of the last century, many countries underwent transformation, but few of them were able, as Poland was, to maintain economic and social stability over a long period of time and successfully integrate into the global economy. One of the important reasons for Poland’s success is that there is no shortage here of reasonable and rational people, such as Professor Kołodko.
Based on the development experience of our countries, I deeply believe that China and Poland will be able, in a changing world, to preserve openness and reason, to be guided by long-term thinking, and to make decisions that serve the common interests of our nations and the common development of humanity.
Thank you for your attention.
