–amid complex int’l situation
CHINESE President Xi Jinping, on Tuesday, stressed efforts to put in place new systems for a higher standard open economy and to proactively lift the country’s opening up to a new level, according to the Xinhua News Agency.
Xi made the remarks while presiding over a meeting of the central commission for deepening overall reform. He also stressed that the focus should be put on institutional opening up and deepening reforms in key areas of global exchanges and cooperation such as investment, trade, finance and innovation.

The meeting pointed out that China’s development is facing a complex and difficult international situation at present, while stressing efforts to improve the top design for new systems for a higher-standard open economy, deepen institutional reforms in trade and investment, expand market access and compressively optimise the business environment.
The remarks send a powerful message of support for increased international exchanges and cooperation as well as a rejection of growing unilateralism and protectionism in certain countries, analysts noted.

“Maintaining a high level of openness has always been a key theme of our country’s development. Even though some Western countries have been trying to disrupt our efforts in recent years, we have always maintained a mutually beneficial and win-win opening up strategy,” Cong Yi, a professor at the Tianjin University of Finance and Economics, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
Cong noted that while the US and other Western officials focus on “decoupling, de-risking and breaking supply chains” and are even deliberately trying to undermine and contain China, China is showing that its door will only open wider and many Western businesses are still actively seeking broader cooperation in China. “We cannot be disrupted in this,” he said.

Defying calls in the West for “decoupling” or “de-risking,” since the start of the year many foreign executives including Microsoft Founder Bill Gates, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Apple CEO Tim Cook, have visited China seeking greater cooperation.
Apart from opening up, Tuesday’s meeting also pointed out that China will adhere to the bottom-line thinking and extreme-scenario thinking, pay close attention to improving the national security system and mechanism, and strive to improve the ability and level of supervision in opening-up, according to Xinhua.

The meeting also pointed out that China will actively participate in the reform and construction of the global governance system by closely linking the building of new systems for a higher-standard open economy to the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative.

At the meeting, several documents were reviewed and approved, including a guideline on building new systems for a higher-standard open economy, a plan for deepening rural reform, a guideline on carbon emissions control, a guideline on reform of salary systems at universities and research institutes, a guideline on enhancing national oil and gas supply security, and a guideline on institutional reform in electricity, according to Xinhua.

These are key development priorities in China, as the country steps up efforts to pursue high-quality development, while fending off external risks and challenges, analysts noted. The focus on reforming compensation systems at universities and research institutes, for example, aims to encourage basic research and major technological breakthroughs.

“China’s manufacturing advantages are extremely competitive in the world, but at the same time we urgently need to make up for shortcomings in some key technologies and achieve independent breakthroughs,” Cong said.
This is the second meeting of the Central Commission for Comprehensively Deepening Reform under the 20th Communist Party of China Central Committee. The first meeting, held in April, focused on innovation as a crucial step to achieving sci-tech self-reliance and strength and support for the private economy. (Global Times)

Daxing hydrogen energy zone powers China’s green drive
AS a step of phasing out non-capital functions and achieving transformation and upgrading, the Daxing International Hydrogen Energy Demonstration Zone has become a new highland for energy scientific innovation in the southern suburbs of the capital Beijing.

The demonstration zone, covering hydrogen R&D, utilisation, production, exhibition and exchange, was established in Sept 2020, and was included in the Beijing Hydrogen Industry Development Implementation Plan (2021-2025) in August 2021.
The whole project is divided into three phases.

Phase One, covering an area of about 50,000 square metres, was put into operation in 2021 and has become a demonstration zone covering a hydrogen refueling station, an exchange and exhibition centre, R&D incubators and other relevant services.
With a daily hydrogenation capacity of 4.8 tons, Hypower is the largest hydrogen refueling station in the world, said Wang Kun, a project leader of the Daxing International Hydrogen Energy Demonstration Zone.

Phase Two, which kicked off construction in 2021, was put into operation at the end of 2022. This section consists of testing zone, office buildings and workshops, further promoting the industrial chain of fuel cells.

Phase Three started construction in late June. It is expected to have a national testing centre for fuel cell vehicles, build an integrated test and certificate platform of hydrogen products, leading healthy development of the hydrogen energy industry.
As China steadily pushes ahead with its green drive, the central and local governments are making efforts to promote the hydrogen energy industry, laying out specific hydrogen development plans to drive the industry.

According to the plan on the development of hydrogen energy in the medium and long term (2021-2035) released by the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration in March 2022, by 2035, the proportion of hydrogen produced from renewable energy in terminal energy consumption will increase significantly, which will play an important supporting role in the country’s green energy transformation.

Globally, countries are pushing forward hydrogen development, and China’s hydrogen energy sector has entered the fast lane of development over the past two years.
However, multiple difficulties still remain, especially in transport and storage. The cost of equipment material for hydrogen storage is relatively high. If this issue is solved, the price of hydrogen will see a decline.

China is the largest hydrogen producer in the world. The China Hydrogen Alliance predicts that by 2025, the nation’s hydrogen energy industry will be valued at 1 trillion yuan. By 2050, hydrogen energy is expected to account for more than 10 per cent of its overall energy system.