Pakistan-China Institute hosts Summit in Beijing on energy transition & green development

Pakistan-China Institute, in collaboration with the Europe Asia Center, hosted the Regional Summit on “Energy Transition and Green Development under the Belt and Road Initiative” at Jinshang, Beijing

ISLAMABAD, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 18th May, 2026) Pakistan-China Institute, in collaboration with the Europe Asia Center, hosted the Regional Summit on “Energy Transition and Green Development under the Belt and Road Initiative” at Jinshang, Beijing.

The summit brought together diplomats, policymakers, academics, climate finance experts, legal specialists, private-sector leaders and green development institutions to discuss how CPEC 2.0 can be aligned with climate action, green industrialization, critical minerals, clean technology supply chains and the next phase of Pakistan-China cooperation, said a press release received on Monday.

The summit was held at a critical moment for the region’s energy and industrial transformation. China’s cumulative grid-connected wind and solar power capacity reached 1.84 billion kilowatts in 2025, accounting for 47.3 percent of the country’s total installed power capacity and surpassing thermal power for the first time. For Pakistan, the transition agenda is equally urgent: its updated Nationally Determined Contribution commits the country to a 50 percent reduction below business-as-usual emissions by 2030, with a major share conditional on international finance, while also targeting 60 percent renewable energy and 30 percent electric vehicles by 2030.

Yan Rui, Secretary-General of the Europe-Asia Center, welcomed the participants and spoke about the evolving role of regional connectivity in the Belt and Road Initiative. She emphasized that BRI cooperation is entering a new stage in which physical connectivity must be matched with policy coordination, sustainable investment, climate-sensitive infrastructure and stronger Asia-Europe dialogue.

She underlined that platforms such as this summit are essential for building common understanding between institutions, governments and private-sector actors working on green development across the wider BRI geography.

Mustafa Hyder Sayed, Executive Director of the Pakistan-China Institute, opened the proceedings by reflecting on 75 years of Pakistan-China partnership and the need to reinterpret that relationship through the lens of the future. He emphasized that CPEC must now evolve from a first-generation infrastructure corridor into a platform for Pakistan’s green industrial transformation. He highlighted renewable energy, clean manufacturing, technology transfer, climate finance and industrial upgrading as the pillars of a more resilient and future-oriented CPEC 2.0.

Zhou Jian, CEO, CSAIL, spoke about the financing and delivery of large-scale renewable energy projects across BRI countries. Drawing on the global experience of China Three Gorges International, he highlighted the importance of long-term project development capacity, bankable power-sector models, institutional coordination and large-scale clean energy investment. His remarks reinforced the need for Pakistan and other BRI partner countries to use proven renewable energy models to accelerate clean power deployment at scale.

Ken Chiu, Vice President of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange spoke about the role of capital markets in financing a greener CPEC. He discussed how bilateral cooperation, multilateral instruments, sustainable finance platforms and improved climate-related disclosure can help mobilize capital for low-carbon infrastructure. His intervention linked Green CPEC with the wider evolution of sustainable finance, where investors increasingly demand credible climate data, transparent governance and investable green project pipelines.

This is consistent with the broader direction of financial markets, including HKEX’s phased enhancement of climate-related disclosure requirements aligned more closely with IFRS S2.

Djauhari Oratmangun, Ambassador of Indonesia to China, spoke about the relevance of Indonesia’s energy transition experience for Pakistan and the broader BRI corridor. He emphasized that Indonesia’s experience offers practical lessons for countries seeking to balance energy security, industrial growth, coal transition, renewable energy expansion and just transition concerns.

His remarks placed ASEAN’s green development experience within the BRI conversation and suggested that Pakistan can learn from regional models where international finance, domestic reform and transition planning are being combined.

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Khalid Mahmood, Group CEO of Getz Pharma Pvt. Ltd. and Getz Pharma International FZ LLC, spoke about the role of Pakistan’s private sector in building higher-value industrial cooperation with China. He emphasized that CPEC 2.0 should not remain limited to energy and transport infrastructure, but should also support knowledge-intensive and export-oriented sectors such as pharmaceuticals, life sciences and advanced manufacturing. He highlighted the potential for China-Pakistan cooperation to build world-class industrial ecosystems through technology partnerships, quality manufacturing, regulatory upgrading and private-sector leadership.

Minister of State for Climate Change, Dr. Shezra Mansab Ali Kharal, delivered the chief guest address and spoke about Pakistan’s climate commitments under the Paris Agreement and their direct relevance to CPEC 2.0. She emphasized that Pakistan’s future infrastructure, energy and industrial cooperation must be climate-aligned, investment-ready and consistent with the country’s national development priorities. Her address underlined that a climate-aligned CPEC can help Pakistan mobilize green finance, accelerate renewable energy deployment, improve resilience and position the Pakistan-China partnership as a model for sustainable development in the Global South.

Muhammad Umar Farooq, Senior Researcher at the Pakistan-China Institute, spoke about the need to embed ESG and blended finance into CPEC 2.0 project pipelines. He argued that CPEC’s next phase must move beyond conventional infrastructure finance by combining concessional capital, guarantees, green bonds, sukuk structures, private finance and carbon-linked instruments.

He emphasized that ESG should not be treated as a reporting formality, but as a core project-governance tool that improves risk allocation, investor confidence, community protection and long-term financial viability.

Dr. Yang Fuqiang, Senior Advisor at the Climate Change and Energy Transition Programme, Institute of Energy, Peking University, chaired the first technical session and spoke about China’s energy transition experience as a source of lessons for BRI partner countries.

He discussed how China’s progress in renewable energy, policy sequencing, grid development, clean technology manufacturing and long-term energy planning can inform transition pathways in developing economies. For Pakistan, his remarks highlighted the importance of adapting these lessons to local energy demand, financing constraints, grid capacity and industrial development needs.

Professor Xu Qinhua, Director of the Research Centre on Global Governance at Renmin University of China, spoke about the changing international climate governance environment and what it means for BRI projects. She emphasized that infrastructure development is now increasingly shaped by global expectations around climate alignment, environmental safeguards, disclosure, social responsibility and host-country obligations. Her remarks highlighted that CPEC 2.0 must internalize these norms while remaining sensitive to Pakistan’s development needs, institutional capacity and industrial priorities.

The summit concluded that CPEC 2.0 must move from a conventional infrastructure model toward a green, bankable and industrially transformative platform. Participants emphasized that the next phase should prioritize low-carbon project pipelines, climate finance, ESG-integrated governance, renewable energy, responsible critical mineral development, technology transfer, green manufacturing and stronger environmental safeguards.

The discussion also recognized the achievements of CPEC’s first phase, which added around 8,000 MW of electricity to Pakistan’s national grid, while stressing that the next phase must focus on higher-quality, climate-aligned and export-oriented growth.

The Pakistan-China Institute expressed appreciation to all speakers, partner institutions and participants for contributing to a substantive regional dialogue on the future of Green CPEC and BRI cooperation.