Low-carbon tech key to addressing energy demand

The significant shortfall could pose challenges to implementing capital-intensive projects like clean energy and power grid infrastructure, potentially further widening the technological adaptability gap in developing nations, Wang said.

To combat this, China has partnered with development banks and green funds to attract social capital to the sector, while also developing green bonds and carbon market mechanisms to expand funding sources.

Wang warned, however, that China's efforts may be subject to the adverse impacts of trade barriers.

"Our study estimates that if G20 countries maintain tariff barriers on green products, global solar and wind investment costs would increase by 6 percent and 3 percent, respectively, creating an additional $130 billion funding gap," he said.

Wang added that China is attempting to solve the problem by harmonizing international rules to curb green protectionism. The country has also been adopting localized production strategies by investing in manufacturing facilities, which can bypass tariffs and foster local industrial development.

Ma Minxiang, deputy director of the Yunnan Provincial Academy of Science and Technology, has promoted collaboration on green and low-carbon technologies with South and Southeast Asian countries for over a decade.

Ma, who is also secretary-general of the China-South Asia Technology Transfer Center, said there have been few successful examples in that time, despite consistent efforts from China and the high demand for such technologies in the region.

Solar pumping systems from Yunnan have been installed in India, Pakistan, Myanmar and Thailand. "Such technologies and products are quite popular there. The technologies have been applied even in some quite remote areas," Ma said.

He added that the limited number of successful cooperative projects for green and low-carbon development between China and South and Southeast Asian nations is largely due to insufficient enterprise participation.

Many green projects have been carried out by research institutions, and their involvement usually ended once their assigned tasks were completed, making it difficult for these projects to be sustained, he said.

Ma emphasized the crucial role of government-initiated platforms, such as the China-South Asia Technology Transfer Center, in facilitating the international expansion of Chinese companies with their products and technologies in the low-carbon sector.

Due to a lack of understanding of policies and the needs of local governments, Chinese companies often face limited avenues for entering foreign markets, he said.

Ma noted that financial support from the Chinese government for low-carbon technology transfer is limited, and foreign governmental bodies and research institutions collaborating with China on this issue often have no available funds to provide support at all.

Despite these challenges, government-initiated platforms could create a win-win situation, he said. While companies get the necessary avenues to seek business opportunities, they can also occasionally offer supplementary funding to support cooperative projects.

In the process of promoting the international expansion of China's low-carbon technologies, it is essential to further emphasize the primary role of enterprises in order to address the issue of insufficient capacity in the recipient countries to absorb relevant technologies, said Ma.

He called on Chinese companies to focus more on localized management in their efforts to promote green, low-carbon products and technologies internationally.

Shi Hui, senior investment advisor at the Embassy of Colombia in China, agreed. She said that while multiple Chinese companies have participated in solar and wind energy development in Colombia, the country's energy demand remains substantial.

Shi joined Colombian President Gustavo Petro on a visit to a Chinese green energy company in May, as part of his trip to China for the Fourth Ministerial Meeting of the China-Community of Latin American and Caribbean States Forum. She recalled that the president paid particular attention to distributed solar energy systems.