During the 2025 National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, Yao Jinlong, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and chairman of Meijin Energy, is championing the high-quality progress of the hydrogen energy industry and the digital transformation of the energy industry. Yao Jinlong is putting forward proposals designed to cultivate fair competition and accelerate modernization within the energy sector, addressing critical needs for China’s energy future and aligning with national goals for enduring and efficient energy practices.

Accelerating Digital Transformation in the Energy Industry

Yao Jinlong recognizes the energy industry as a cornerstone of the national economy, emphasizing its pivotal role in achieving high-quality energy progress and the ambitious “dual carbon” goal. He notes, however, that China’s digital transformation of the energy industry is still in its early stages, requiring significant improvements in the modernization of the industrial chain. This transformation is seen as essential for optimizing energy production, distribution, and consumption, ultimately contributing to a more sustainable and efficient energy ecosystem.

Yao Jinlong identifies several key challenges hindering the progress of digital transformation. my country’s digital transformation of energy industry is still in its early stages,and the level of modernization of the industrial chain needs to be further improved. He points to shortcomings in policy support, market mechanisms, and digital infrastructure as primary obstacles. These challenges underscore the need for a thorough and coordinated approach to accelerate the integration of digital technologies into the energy sector.

Specifically, Yao Jinlong highlights the absence of an extensive policy support system for digital energy transformation, characterized by a lack of unified top-level design and effective incentive mechanisms. He suggests a proactive approach to address these gaps, emphasizing the importance of government leadership in driving digital innovation.

To remedy this, Yao jinlong suggests strengthening top-level design and policy support by formulating a national-level digital transformation strategic plan for the energy industry, clarifying development goals and tasks. He proposes building upon existing frameworks, such as the “Action Plan for High-Quality Development of Computing Power Infrastructure,” to further refine the policy support system. This strategic plan would serve as a roadmap for digital transformation, providing clear direction and guidance for stakeholders across the energy sector.

Addressing the challenges related to digital basics, Yao Jinlong acknowledges the significant investments required for digital transformation, particularly for asset-heavy energy companies. He notes that the benefits of these investments are not always promptly apparent, leading to hesitation among some companies. Furthermore, he emphasizes the issue of data silos within the energy industry, hindering data standardization and sharing. Overcoming these hurdles is crucial for unlocking the full potential of digital technologies in the energy sector.

To overcome these hurdles, Yao jinlong advocates for consolidating digital infrastructure, accelerating the construction of big data centers and industrial Internet platforms in the energy field, and promoting the submission of “east digital computing.” These measures would help to create a more interconnected and data-driven energy ecosystem, enabling better decision-making and improved operational efficiency.

Regarding industrial chain coordination, Yao Jinlong addresses the disconnect between customary and new energy sectors in the digital transformation process. He believes that collaborative innovation is essential for bridging this gap, fostering a more integrated and synergistic energy value chain.

Yao Jinlong believes that collaborative innovation in the industrial chain should be promoted, and energy enterprises, details technology enterprises, scientific research institutions, etc. should be guided to form industrial alliances to jointly carry out digital transformation. This approach aims to promote the coordinated development of customary and new energy sources, optimize the energy structure, and improve the overall efficiency of the industrial chain.

Yao Jinlong underscores the importance of technological innovation and security guarantees. He calls for increased support for research and development of autonomous and controllable core technologies, promoting the deep integration of energy technology and digital technology. He also emphasizes the need to build a robust network security protection system to safeguard energy data, ensuring the resilience and reliability of the digital energy infrastructure.

Promoting Fair Competition in the Hydrogen Energy Industry

Recognizing the increasing global demand for carbon-neutral and clean energy, Yao Jinlong highlights hydrogen energy as a crucial component of the global energy transformation. He acknowledges China’s progress in establishing a relatively complete hydrogen energy industry chain, encompassing hydrogen production, storage, transportation, refueling, and application. This comprehensive approach positions China as a key player in the emerging hydrogen economy.

However, Yao Jinlong cautions that the rapid development of the hydrogen energy industry faces challenges, including the insufficient construction of a unified national market and the need to optimize the fair competition environment. These challenges threaten to hinder the sustainable growth and competitiveness of the hydrogen energy sector.

Yao Jinlong points out that on the one hand, my country’s hydrogen energy industry has unbalanced regional development and large policy differences between localities, resulting in serious market segmentation. Conversely,some regions have set up invisible protection measures for local enterprises,restricting foreign enterprises from participating in local project bidding,which has affected the optimal allocation of resources and fair competition among enterprises. These issues highlight the need for a more coordinated and transparent regulatory framework to promote fair competition and market integration.

To address these issues and foster a more competitive and unified market,Yao Jinlong proposes three key recommendations.

1. Optimize the market access mechanism: Yao Jinlong advocates for establishing a nationwide unified negative list system for market access, allowing all types of enterprises to enter areas outside the list equally, without discriminatory entry thresholds or disguised restrictions for foreign enterprises.This would create a more level playing field for all market participants, fostering innovation and efficiency.

2. Strengthen fair competition review: He emphasizes the need to increase law enforcement efforts and standardize the market order of the hydrogen energy industry to maintain a fair and competitive market environment. This includes preventing anti-competitive practices and ensuring that all companies have an equal opportunity to succeed.

3. Strengthen policy guidance and support: Yao Jinlong recommends studying and formulating a national unified hydrogen energy industry development policy, increasing support for the hydrogen energy industry, and establishing and improving relevant laws, regulations, and standard systems for the hydrogen energy industry, including safety specifications, technical standards, and quality supervision systems for various links such as hydrogen energy readiness, storage, transportation, filling, and application. This comprehensive policy framework would provide clear direction and guidance for the development of the hydrogen energy sector, promoting its sustainable and responsible growth.