Everyday Economics Interview with Zheng Yongnian: The global new energy development has just begun, and the gap remains huge.

Byline Reporter | Zhang Hong      Editor | Bi Luming

On March 22, the China Development Forum 2026 Annual Conference will be held in Beijing.

As geopolitical games intensify, they bring new challenges to global energy cooperation. At a critical moment when the global energy structure is being rapidly reshaped, how to create and seize market opportunities for the development of the new energy industry, and build an industrial ecosystem that is secure, resilient, and sustainable, is well worth deep thought.

On site, around issues such as the energy structure, Zheng Yongnian, Dean of the School of Public Policy at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, held a dialogue with a reporter from The Daily Economic News (hereinafter “NBD”).

(Zheng Yongnian answers questions from a The Daily Economic News reporter; reporter Zhang Hong took the photo)

China’s energy layout is not only the right direction—it’s also well executed

NBD: What impact does the current geopolitical conflict have on the restructuring of the energy mix?

Zheng Yongnian: I believe that in terms of energy planning, China hasn’t only chosen the right path—but it has also executed it well.

First, we successfully diversified traditional energy sources; second, we also successfully developed new energy.

Previously, some conservative voices in the United States denied climate change, did not believe an energy crisis exists, and also tried to contain China’s new energy industry. I think that, through the energy issues triggered by the situation in Iran, China and European countries can find more consensus and motivation for cooperation along new energy development paths, further confirming the correctness of the new energy route. As Tesla CEO Elon Musk said, solar energy resources are inexhaustible, and energy inside the Earth is truly trivial compared with solar energy; humanity should seek energy from the sun rather than obsessing over competition for traditional energy. The development direction China chose early on was extremely correct.

NBD: Where does China’s new energy technology stand in the world today—what tier is it in?

Zheng Yongnian: In the new energy sector, China is of course in the leading first tier. The Trump administration abandoned new energy and shifted toward traditional energy partly because, in the U.S.’s view, it is no longer able to compete with China in this area. Looking at the current industrial landscape, even traditional auto powerhouses like Germany are also shifting directions. Previously, Germany, the United States, Japan, and others formed a natural monopoly position by relying on traditional energy vehicle industries; now, during the transition to new energy, they instead need to seek cooperation with Chinese companies such as BYD.

Of course, we should not be complacent. Other countries are also actively laying out their plans. For example, Japan has also made moves in hydrogen energy and hybrid power. Therefore, China needs to continue pushing technological innovation. But given the current stage of development, China’s new energy industry has indeed firmly secured the position of global first-tier.

NBD: Recently, some domestic companies confirmed that Tesla plans to procure China-made photovoltaic equipment. What do you think is the reason?

Zheng Yongnian: Because it’s inevitable.

First, China is globally leading in the photovoltaic industry. In fact, since humankind entered the Internet era, the global industrial landscape has gradually evolved into one led by China and the United States. From the Internet to emerging areas such as artificial intelligence, technological development has mainly been concentrated in China and the United States; other countries may have some participation, but their influence is relatively limited.

The reason some areas of U.S. development are hindered at root is that, domestically, there is a huge entrenched interest group. For many years, the international community has continued to discuss the imbalance in the global economic structure. Starting from 2007 and 2008, people have been discussing the products of economic imbalances—yet up to now, this issue has not been effectively resolved.

Why hasn’t it been effectively resolved? Because the United States is accustomed to blaming responsibility on other countries; in reality, it is its domestic entrenched interest groups that obstruct reform.

That is precisely why the rise of the technologic right is of great significance. This group represents the interests of emerging capital and advocates overcoming domestic entrenched-interest obstacles through accelerationism (an idea that uses technology to reconstruct society) in order to drive industrial transformation. Compared with that, China is one of the few countries in the world with institutional advantages and the capacity for self-revolution.

China has comparative advantages in AI application and deployment

Zheng Yongnian believes that as long as technology doesn’t reach its peak, the economy won’t either.

**NBD: **Is the end of AI energy, top-tier talent, or applications?

Zheng Yongnian: These aspects need to develop in a coordinated way. However, at the end of the day, technology must be applied and deployed. Any technology that cannot be practically used will ultimately turn into a bubble. Recently, American society has been discussing risks of an artificial intelligence bubble. On the one hand, in every industrial revolution, when new technologies first emerge, there is inevitably a phenomenon of overheated investment; on the other hand, the key is to promote the deployment and transformation of technology.

The core of deploying artificial intelligence is to find application scenarios—and that is precisely China’s strength, while the United States lacks corresponding advantages in expanding application scenarios.

NBD: Is having advantages because the market is large?

Zheng Yongnian: China not only has a huge market size, but also a wide variety and diversity of application scenarios. Because the United States has already exited parts of the product production and manufacturing links, there is a lack of domestic application scenarios, so it can only seek room for applications from the outside. By comparison, China can provide ample application scenarios for artificial intelligence technology within its own domestic context.

Global supply gap for new energy remains enormous

When discussing “anti-overheating” (anti-“involution”), Zheng Yongnian pointed out that on the one hand, China’s new energy industry indeed has intense internal competition, the so-called “involution.” But it’s necessary to distinguish the nature of “involution”: if it manifests as vicious price competition, it should be avoided; if it reflects diligent innovation and technological breakthroughs, then it is a positive phenomenon.

From the perspective of the current energy crisis, new energy development globally is far from enough. Therefore, the key to “anti-involution” lies in how to push excess capacity “outward” in a rational and orderly manner. During the process of going outward, we should also avoid everyone rushing at once. What the government focuses on addressing is not benign competition, but that kind of development model where people rush in, and then just as quickly disperse.

NBD: You just said the gap in new energy is still quite large. How much do you think the gap is in terms of overall scale right now?

Zheng Yongnian: Broad developing countries have a huge demand for new energy, and the new energy supply of developed economies such as Europe and the United States also still fails to meet actual needs. Although the concept of new energy was first proposed by Western countries and the U.S.-led economies, today, Europe and the United States accuse China of “excess capacity,” which in reality is based on ideological bias and a stance of competitive disadvantage. From the objective demand perspective, global new energy development has only just started, and the gap is still enormous.

Cover image source: Zhu Yu