How China charts the path in global climate governance with 2035 NDCs

Editor's note: Wang Yiwei is a Jean Monnet chair professor and director of the Institute of International Affairs at Renmin University of China. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily those of CGTN.

Chinese President Xi Jinping unveiled China's 2035 Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) in a video address to the United Nations Climate Summit 2025, which was held in New York on Wednesday. He outlined China's climate targets by 2035 to reduce economy-wide net greenhouse gas emissions by 7 percent to 10 percent from peak levels and to raise the share of non-fossil fuels in total energy consumption to over 30 percent.

The plan includes a massive scale-up of renewable energy, targeting a total installed wind and solar capacity of 3,600 gigawatts, over six times the 2020 level. China will also increase its forest stock to more than 24 billion cubic meters and make new energy vehicles the dominant segment of new car sales. Meanwhile, the National Carbon Emissions Trading Market will expand to cover major high-emission sectors, while policies aim to build a climate-adaptive society.

A day earlier, at a UN high-level meeting, Chinese Premier Li Qiang emphasized China's global role, saying that China has established the largest and most complete new energy industrial chain in the world, and pledged that China will continue to promote the global green transition and contribute to a clean, beautiful, and sustainable world.

China's actions reveal that, guided by the vision of a community with a shared future for humanity, China is taking an increasingly important leadership role in global climate governance. Its strategy combines comprehensive domestic action, pragmatic international cooperation, and a willingness to shape the rules of global governance.

China's approach is rooted in the logic as follows:

From the roots of Confucianism: As early as 1988, at the conference themed "Facing the 21st Century: Threats and Promises" held in Paris, 75 Nobel laureates argued that humanity must draw wisdom from Confucian philosophy 25 centuries ago to survive the ecological challenges of the 21st century. The idea of harmony – not just among people, but between man and nature – remains central to China's ecological thought. It provides a valuable Chinese solution for addressing the global ecological crisis and building a community of life between man and nature.

Establish before abolish: To avoid the old path of "pollute first, treat later," it's important to first establish clean energy industries such as solar, wind, and hydropower, then gradually phase out coal, oil, and gas, while mapping out the carbon neutrality roadmap of achieving "peak carbon" emission by 2030 and becoming "carbon neutral" by 2060. China has already stopped building new coal power projects in Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) participating countries and is promoting a green BRI.

Step by step: The so-called "climate ambition" of developed countries – to limit global warming to 1.5°C – is in some ways unrealistic, and can also be easily turned into political pressure on developing countries. China, therefore, played a central role in forging the Paris Agreement in 2015, under which parties should limit global average temperature rise to within 2°C above pre-industrial levels, and strive to limit it within 1.5°C. Over the past decade, China has been a constant supporter of IPCC negotiations (including this year's COP30), and has been rolling out global action gradually and feasibly.

From China to the world: The integration of digitalization and new energy emphasizes the coordination of development and protection. The concept that "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets," after being tested in practice in China, is now promoted globally through platforms such as the Belt and Road Initiative International Green Development Coalition (BRIGC). This concept proves to many developing countries that economic growth and environmental protection can go hand in hand, providing confidence and a reference path for the global green transition.

China's participation in and leadership of global climate governance is supported by profound ideas:

"Lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets": This concept reveals the unity between economic development and environmental protection, pointing out that protecting the environment means protecting productivity, and improving the environment is developing productivity. It provides a key to resolving the dilemma between development and protection.

"A community of life for man and nature": This concept stresses that man and nature form a community of life, which is to say, harm to nature will eventually harm humanity itself. It requires human beings to respect, conform to and protect nature, and to explore a path of harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature.

The principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities": China has always adhered to and promoted this core principle of global climate governance, emphasizing that developed countries, because of their historical emissions and current capacity, should shoulder greater responsibility in addressing climate change, while all countries should act according to their respective capabilities.

China actively leads global climate governance through multiple approaches:

Upholding multilateralism: China is a firm defender of multilateralism as it always upholds the UN-centered international system, and supports the UNFCCC as the main channel for global climate governance.

Deepening South–South cooperation: China has established a South–South cooperation fund for climate change, provided training for developing countries, and supported low-carbon demonstration projects. For example, China has signed memoranda of understanding on climate cooperation with many developing countries and trained a large number of officials and technical personnel from over 120 developing countries.

Promoting coordination and cooperation among major countries: China values dialogue and cooperation with major economies on climate issues. For instance, China and the United States jointly promoted the adoption and entry into force of the Paris Agreement and have maintained communication and cooperation on climate action, instilling energy into global climate governance to make it more stable and positive.

China has made substantive contributions in specific areas:

Green and low-carbon energy transition: China is a global leader in renewable energy development, not only greatly increasing its own installed renewable capacity (reaching 1.889 billion kilowatts by the end of 2024), but also lowering global wind and solar costs by more than 60 percent and 80 percent through its industrial advantages, providing strong support for the global energy transition.

Market mechanism innovation: China has built the world's largest carbon market to control emissions, covering the most greenhouse gas emissions, which has been presented to the world as an important example for global carbon pricing mechanisms.

Ecosystem conservation and restoration: China has carried out large-scale afforestation and ecological projects, contributing about one-quarter of the world's new green areas in the past 20 years. Programs such as "returning farmland to forest" and "returning pasture to grassland" have significantly enhanced carbon sink capacity and climate resilience.

Advancing the global ecological agenda: China has actively fulfilled international environmental commitments and spearheaded major achievements such as the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, taking leadership in global ecological governance.

China's core values and experience in leading global climate governance offer important inspiration:

Be as good as one's word: China not only sets ambitious climate goals but also establishes sound policy systems and takes concrete actions, demonstrating true commitment.

Balancing domestic and international dimensions: By treating climate action as a requirement of its own sustainable development and a major national strategy, China has achieved synergy between domestic low-carbon transition and global climate governance.

Pursuing fairness and win-win cooperation: China always pays close attention to the concerns of other developing countries, upholds the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, and promotes a fair and reasonable global climate governance system.

The vision of building a community with a shared future for humanity is not an abstract slogan. It means the future of nations and peoples is bound together. China's concept of global climate governance is one expression of this vision – a call to stand together through thick and thin, to build a harmonious global village on our shared planet and to turn humanity's aspiration for a better life into a shared reality.