Source: China Financial News Magazine

Reporter: Ma Tengyue

"The Government Work Report comprehensively reviewed and summarized the major achievements of 2025 and the '14th Five-Year Plan' period, and grandly outlined the main goals and major tasks for the '15th Five-Year Plan' period. It is inspiring and motivating!" said NPC Deputy, Vice Chairman of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, and Chairman of the Board of Tongwei Group, Liu Hanyuan.

At this year's Two Sessions, starting from energy transition and cutting in from market reform, Liu Hanyuan put forward proposals on promoting ESG's shift from a compliance orientation to value creation, supporting high-quality development of domestic and international dual circulation, and accelerating the development of electricity derivatives markets to support the steady advancement of electricity market reform, continuing to contribute ideas for green, low-carbon, and sustainable development.

Staying True to the Blueprint for Green Development

Liu Hanyuan stated that the Government Work Report mentioned new energy, carbon neutrality, and green development multiple times. Among them, the comprehensive deployment on actively and steadily advancing carbon peaking and carbon neutrality and vigorously developing a green and low-carbon economy has pointed out the direction and provided the guiding principles for the development of China's PV industry in the new era. The Government Work Report pointed out adherence to the "two unwaverings," continued effort to build a first-class business environment, vigorous promotion of the entrepreneurial spirit, better support for enterprises to operate with peace of mind and achieve high-quality development, and full stimulation of the vitality of all types of market entities including private enterprises. From these concrete measures, he deeply felt the strategic resolve to act with determination and reach far, and the heartwarming warmth of caring for every detail in national development, feeling greatly warmed, greatly reassured, and greatly motivated.

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, China has achieved remarkable accomplishments in energy transition and climate governance. As of 2025, China's cumulative installed capacity of PV and wind power has historically surpassed that of thermal power, reaching 1.84 billion kilowatts, accounting for 47.3% of total installed capacity and nearly half of the global total PV and wind power installed capacity, building the world's largest and fastest-growing renewable energy system.

In Liu Hanyuan's view, China has transformed from the country under the greatest pressure in energy transition to the leading country in energy transition, and will become the biggest beneficiary. Currently, as the main force driving the global energy revolution, China's energy transition has entered the "deep water zone," requiring greater courage and responsibility to further intensify application efforts, resolve development issues through development, consolidate and expand China's leading advantages, and continue to lead the global green transition. During the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, China has the conditions to further accelerate energy transition and is capable of "running faster and running better." By increasing the installed application of new energy, it can effectively drive sustained and sound economic development and help China stay at the forefront of global climate governance.

"As representatives of private enterprises, we will, with a sense of urgency that time waits for no one, shoulder the responsibilities and missions entrusted by the era, practice the concept that 'lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets' with concrete actions, stay true to the blueprint for green development, and contribute more wisdom and strength to national energy security and the achievement of 'dual carbon' goals, and to a strong start for the '15th Five-Year Plan' with practical results," Liu Hanyuan said.

Deepening the Linkage between ESG and the Financial System

In recent years, the ESG concept (Environmental, Social, and Governance) has rapidly gained traction in China. The policy framework has been continuously improved, investment scale has been constantly expanding, and it has moved from the "setting standards" phase to the "strengthening norms" phase. The recognition of ESG across all sectors has been translated into measurable and trackable disclosure practices and investment flows that realize value creation. To this end, Liu Hanyuan put forward relevant proposals on promoting ESG's shift from a compliance orientation to value creation.

He believes that China should fully leverage the valuable experience accumulated in energy transition, green innovation, and other fields to accelerate the construction of an ESG evaluation system and value realization mechanism with Chinese characteristics, deepen the linkage between ESG and the financial system, strengthen synergy with the green transformation of the real economy, and comprehensively promote China's ESG to achieve the leap from "trailing" to "running alongside" to "leading."

First, it is proposed to build a value-oriented ESG evaluation standard system. On the basis of the existing framework, industry-specific and size-specific ESG evaluation rules should be formulated, integrating value creation into the quantitative standards and accounting methods of core indicators. Positive evaluation indicators reflecting enterprises' achievements in cost reduction, efficiency improvement, innovation driving, and brand value enhancement through ESG practices — and linked to financial and business outcomes — should be added, making value creation quantifiable, comparable, and verifiable.

Second, it is proposed to strengthen financial incentive mechanisms and guide capital to empower ESG value creation. An ESG value creation and financial support linkage mechanism should be established, promoting financial institutions to link enterprise performance with financing costs and credit quotas, and providing interest rate preferences and quota tilting for enterprises with high-quality ESG value creation. The coverage of green finance should be expanded, guiding insurance funds, pension funds, and other long-term capital to increase allocation to ESG value-creating enterprises, and promoting the establishment of an ESG investment information disclosure mechanism to clearly transmit value signals and guide capital toward sustainable development areas.

Third, it is proposed to leverage the leading role of头部 enterprises and build an industrial chain ESG value closed loop. Taking new energy and other industrially internationally competitive sectors as breakthrough points, leading enterprises should be encouraged to spearhead the formation of ESG value creation alliances, linking upstream and downstream of the industrial chain to collaboratively advance green production, low-carbon supply chain construction, and resource recycling, creating a full-chain ESG value creation system.

Fourth, it is proposed to build a diversified and collaborative support ecosystem and strengthen safeguard support. ESG value creation should be incorporated into local high-quality development evaluation systems, with preferential policy tilting for enterprises actively participating in industrial chain ESG alliance construction and carrying out innovation pilots. Through a linkage mechanism of effective government guidance, proactive enterprise action, and broad social participation, a new pattern of co-construction, co-governance, and shared sustainable development should be formed.

Accelerating the Development of Electricity Derivatives Markets

Liu Hanyuan stated that the deepening of electricity market reform is inseparable from the coordinated support of the derivatives market. A mature electricity derivatives market is the key to hedging price risks, ensuring steady operations of market entities, and maintaining the stable operation of the electricity market.

First, it is proposed to accelerate the construction of a diversified and standardized product system to build a solid foundation for risk hedging. The research and listing process of electricity futures should be accelerated, and the research and listing preparation of a nationally unified electricity futures contract should be completed as soon as possible. A "national coordination + local pilot" mechanism should be established, encouraging provinces with mature spot markets to take the lead in piloting distinctive products such as peak-valley spread contracts and new energy output index futures, focusing on matching the risk hedging needs of emerging market entities such as new energy generation, energy storage, and virtual power plants. Replicable experience should then be promoted nationwide.

Second, it is proposed to accelerate the construction of a unified national market and establish unified national rules for the electricity derivatives market. The establishment of a national electricity derivatives market coordination mechanism should be accelerated, promoting all provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) to unify trading rules, accounting standards, and price formation mechanisms, and eliminating local policy differences. The interconnection of the national electricity trading platform and the futures trading platform systems should be advanced, enabling the sharing and joint use of key information such as trading data, position information, and fulfillment status, reducing the information asymmetry costs of cross-regional trading.

Third, it is proposed to strengthen market infrastructure construction and enhance comprehensive service support capabilities. Investment in electricity derivatives market infrastructure construction should be increased, supporting futures exchanges and electricity trading centers to upgrade their technology systems and comprehensively improve the stability, security, and capacity of trading systems. A nationally unified electricity data sharing platform should be established, integrating full-chain data resources from electricity generation, transmission, consumption, and storage, providing data support for precise derivatives pricing and effective risk prevention and control.

Fourth, it is proposed to establish and improve policy coordination and regulatory synergy mechanisms to ensure the orderly operation of the market. A collaborative working mechanism between energy regulation and financial regulation should be established, with clear division of responsibilities, forming a regulatory synergy that is vertically linked and efficiently coordinated. The supporting policy framework should be improved, incorporating corporate hedging operations into the risk management evaluation system, and providing targeted support in credit financing and tax preferences for enterprises that conduct hedging in compliance.

Fifth, it is proposed to strengthen market entity cultivation and guidance, and enhance the industry-wide risk hedging capability. A public welfare training platform should be built, incorporating electricity derivatives knowledge training into the regular training system of energy enterprises, and conducting specialized training jointly with industry associations and futures exchanges to enhance market entities' "risk neutrality" awareness and hedging operational capabilities, enabling market entities to "know how to use and dare to use" derivatives tools.