Wind turbines made in China arrive in the coastal city of Taranto, Italy, in January 2022. [Photo/Xinhua]

China has been playing an important role in global green development and has become a significant force in promoting the global transition to green energy, said industry experts.

China is now a key force in promoting international energy cooperation and advancing green and low-carbon development, said Wu Xuan, chief operating officer of the Global Energy Interconnection Development and Cooperation Organization, during a forum in Beijing last month.

China has been sharing its accumulated clean energy and power interconnection project technology and experience with different countries through international cooperation in recent years via its GEIDCO initiative, which has been actively building cooperation platforms to accelerate the implementation of engineering projects worldwide, especially in countries and regions participating in the Belt and Road Initiative, Wu said.

Established in China in 2016, GEIDCO, with the aim of building a globally interconnected smart grid with ultrahigh voltage grids as its backbone, is a nongovernmental, nonprofit international organization with member firms, associations, institutions and individuals dedicated to promoting sustainable development of energy worldwide.

It is the first international organization in the energy field initiated and established by China. As of now, the total number of members of the cooperative organization stands at 1,302, covering 141 countries and regions and building an international cooperation network based on consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits.

According to Wu, with a focus on neighboring countries, as well as countries and regions participating in the BRI, Beijing has been vigorously promoting clean energy and power interconnection projects in recent years.

Several transnational interconnection projects, such as those involving China-South Korea, China-Myanmar-Bangladesh, and Ethiopia-Gulf countries, have received support from local governments with positive progress seen, he said.

An analyst said the organization has been playing a key role in further facilitating the world's shift toward a green and low-carbon future.

"In the past seven years, GEIDCO has transformed global energy interconnectivity into a roadmap for global energy transition and sustainable development," said Lin Boqiang, head of the China Institute for Studies in Energy Policy at Xiamen University.

It has significantly improved the electrification level of the whole society, providing a fundamental solution to address the long-term contradiction between development and emission reductions faced by countries worldwide, Lin said.

As this year marks the 10th anniversary of the BRI, Wu said the organization will specifically target regions such as Central Asia, Southeast Asia, West Asia and North Africa based on the construction layout of the initiative.

"We will increase our research efforts and actively promote relevant network planning and projects to facilitate their implementation," he said.

Domestic companies, including State Grid Corp of China and China Three Gorges Corp, have also been actively laying out clean energy and grid business in the countries.

According to Zhang Kun, vice-general manager of the Beijing branch of China Three Gorges Corp, the company has been continuously strengthening energy cooperation with countries and regions participating in the BRI, relying on technical advantages in clean energy such as hydropower and wind power, as well as project management experience.

Some of the major clean energy projects in countries in Latin America and Africa as well as Europe and North America have contributed well to local energy development and electricity access, while assisting in the energy transition and power interconnectivity of countries involved in the BRI, Zhang said.

Paul van Son, head of the Desertec Industrial Initiative, said cooperation with GEIDCO has further facilitated renewable energy development, grid interconnectivity and energy storage technology in local regions, bringing clean energy to the world while connecting energy from source to demand.

In addition to the power sector, the hydrogen industry has also received increasing attention in recent years, and we hope to expand our cooperation in the above-mentioned fields in the coming years, he said.