China has taken great efforts and made remarkable achievements in promoting low-carbon development and addressing climate change issues, foreign diplomats and experts said at the 2022 Taiyuan Energy Low Carbon Development Forum held from Sept 1-3.

Francois Lemal, a counselor at the French embassy in China, said this is the first time that France attended the forum, and he realized that this is a globally influential platform for dialogue, international collaboration and a showcase of the latest technologies and products.

"France and China have been engaged in collaboration in the fields of environmental protection and global climate change for a long period of time," Lemal said. "We have recognized that a transformation in the energy industry, including changes in production and consumption, is crucial to addressing the current challenges."

The diplomat said he noticed that Shanxi is one of the Chinese pioneers in the industrial transformation. "We are willing to cooperate with China and Shanxi in fields relating to the transformation," Lemal said.

Israel was the guest country of honor at this year's forum.

Mor Riklin Thein, a counselor at the Israeli embassy in China, said the forum has become an important platform for Israel's cooperation with China and Shanxi.

During the forum, a matchmaking event was held to facilitate cooperation between Israel and China. The two sides will further their cooperation in the energy and environmental fields in the future and her embassy will arrange more industrialists and specialists to attend the forum in the years to come.

Francesco La Camera, director-general of the International Renewable Energy Agency, said there is a pressing need to transform the current energy industry considering this year's volatile fossil energy market caused by international crises like the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Compared with the rising prices of fossil fuels, Camera said "renewables are by far the cheapest form of power today".

He noted that China has made great achievements in developing clean, renewable energy resources.

Camera said the country has made technological breakthroughs in the new energy industry and has a predictable policy environment for the industry's sustained development.

Many participants praised Shanxi's remarkable role in promoting the energy industry transformation and sustainable development.

Wang Jiazhong is the chairman of Shanxi Association of Entrepreneurs Returning from Overseas. A partner of a German-funded architecture company in Shanxi, Wang has been living in Shanxi for 10 years.

"Over the past decade, I have stood witness to Shanxi's transformation of the energy industry," Wang said. "We have seen the rapid growth of many renewable sectors, including wind power, solar power and hydrogen."

Over recent years, Shanxi has implemented a transformation campaign that features upgrading the coal industry toward the directions of high efficiency and clean production and stepping up the development of clean energy resources.

Local statistics show that the capacity of power generation plants based on clean and renewable energy resources now accounts for 34.3 percent of Shanxi's total.

Chen Junqi contributed to this story.