SINGAPORE — China is rapidly becoming a global colossus in renewable energy as it seeks to reduce reliance on polluting fossil fuels and establish itself as a leading clean power manufacturer and exporter.
Its rise in some key sectors of the green energy business has been breathtaking. In 1999, China made around 1 percent of the photovoltaic cells that are put into solar panels to generate electricity. A decade later it was the world's leading producer, with a 40 percent share of the market.
Firms in China are expected to make more than half of all solar panels manufactured this year, as well as nearly 80 percent of solar hot water units. China is also on course to produce nearly half the world's wind power turbines. It sells them at prices significantly lower than those of manufacturers in the West and is preparing for large-scale exports to the United States and Europe.