Visitors attend the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 20, 2026. The World Economic Forum takes place in Davos from January 19 to January 23, 2026. Photo: AFP
China is increasingly being seen as a key stabilizing force in the global sustainability transition, as its business leaders place growing emphasis on delivering practical and scalable solutions at a time when the world is facing mounting economic pressure alongside the demands of the green transition, a senior international business leader told the Global Times (GT) on Friday.
Peter Bakker, president and CEO of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), made the remarks in an exclusive interview with GT while attending the 2026 World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting, currently underway in Davos, Switzerland.
The five-day event opened on Monday evening. Under the theme “A Spirit of Dialogue,” it has brought together nearly 3,000 leaders and experts from around the world to discuss five pressing global challenges, including strengthening cooperation, unlocking new sources of growth, and deploying innovation at scale and in a responsible manner.
Reflecting on this year’s discussions, Bakker said that governments and businesses increasingly recognize that they are operating in a very different global environment, shaped by widening geopolitical divisions, economic strain, fast-moving technological change, and rising risks from climate change and nature loss.
“The biggest challenge for the world economy and global governance is how to manage this complexity without losing momentum,” he noted, adding that fragmentation is already pushing up costs, holding back investment and weakening confidence – especially for long-term transitions such as net-zero goals and energy system reform.
Bakker emphasized that the most urgent task now is to better align policy, capital and business action in order to accelerate the green and low-carbon transition and put sustainable development strategies into practice.
In his view, China has stood out as one of the economies that is already achieving a successful transition during this process.
“China was widely viewed as a structural force in the global sustainability transition, leveraging its role as a major manufacturing hub and a leader in scaling clean technologies to shape global decarbonization pathways,” he noted, emphasizing “the scale of that contribution is significant.”
The country’s exports of the “new trio” products – electric vehicles, photovoltaic products and lithium-ion batteries – approached 1.3 trillion yuan ($187 billion) in 2025, marking a 3.5-fold increase compared with 2020, customs data showed.
Meanwhile, Chinese companies now account for more than 80 percent of global photovoltaic component production and over 70 percent of lithium battery output. In 2025, China’s automobile production and sales reached a fresh historic high, marking the 17th straight year the country has ranked first globally, industry data showed.
Bakker cited the data as evidence that China’s growing role is reshaping traditional automotive supply chains and speeding up the decarbonization of global transport.
Beyond production capacity, Bakker also highlighted China’s expanding engagement in international cooperation. This, he said, is evident not only in Davos discussions but also through initiatives such as WBCSD’s Two Lakes Dialogue, which brings together Chinese and international companies.
Through these platforms, Chinese firms are increasingly active in sharing best practices, co-developing solutions and linking domestic innovation with global markets, he noted.
At this year’s WEF, China reaffirmed its commitment to upholding the multilateral climate process, actively advancing global green and low-carbon development, and working with all parties to build closer partnerships on green development. The country also pledged to help narrow global green capacity gaps and ensure the free flow of high-quality green products worldwide.
Rather than emphasizing rhetoric, Chinese government and business leaders are increasingly focused on implementation, Bakker said, pointing to efforts to deliver transitions at scale, manage physical climate risks and provide workable solutions to global challenges.
On the other hand, China’s experience carries broader international relevance. As the first major economy to pursue modernization explicitly based on non-fossil energy, China is exploring a development path that other countries can learn from. Through platforms such as the Belt and Road Initiative, Bakker said. “China is offering more than technology transfer, providing instead a replicable model that integrates economic development with decarbonization,” he noted.
China’s innovative and execution-driven approach, Bakker said, is likely to shape the next phase of global sustainable development and help stabilize the world economy amid rising uncertainty.
On a global scale, the WBCSD head said the green transition requires firm execution and broader cooperation at both government and business levels. “It is necessary for policy, finance and industry to move together quickly, working across borders to strengthen value chains, scale up clean technologies and manage shared risks,” he noted.
Today’s “Spirit of Dialogue” is more about sustained engagement that sends clear policy signals, reduces uncertainty for investors and turns shared goals into workable economic solutions, he said. “Such cooperation is not optional but an economic necessity for all parties.”