Siemens says that China's drive to conserve energy and raw materials offers the company a major business opportunity.

"The Siemens portfolio in China is ideally positioned for providing a modern, sustainable and environmentally compatible infrastructure," said Dr. Richard Hausmann, president and CEO of Siemens Ltd., China. "We are optimistic that, by 2010, we will double the sales of our Regional Company in China from their current level of roughly EU5 billion."

At the 2007 session of the People's Congress, the Chinese government announced that conserving energy and raw materials, and protecting the environment were priority issues. China is facing major challenges: rapid economic growth, increasing urbanization and major events like the up-coming 2008 Olympics and Expo 2010 are creating a need for advanced infrastructure. The main focus is on the fields of energy and transportation.

Urbanization and rapid economic growth present enormous challenges, as the Chinese megacities clearly demonstrate. The Chinese economy's growing need for energy — experts predict an annual increase of up to 20% by 2020 — makes action imperative, since China currently obtains some 70% of its energy from coal. This results in huge emissions of harmful carbon dioxide (CO2). Today China burns 2.1 billion tons of coal a year, more than the U.S., the EU and Japan put together. The most populous country in the world will probably overtake the U.S. by 2009 as the largest producer of the greenhouse gas CO2.

"Coal-based power generation is only one of the fields where Siemens technology can substantially reduce the emission of gases harmful to the environment," explained Hausmann. "All the Siemens Groups offer solutions for improving energy efficiency and sustainability which can help protect the climate. We expect a marked increase in investment in these areas in China," continued Hausmann. The authorities in China are already using climate-friendly technologies to further improve the quality of life in the country, as shown by the following examples.

In the power generation sector, the Waigaoqiao II coal-fired power plant installed by Siemens in Shanghai, with a capacity of 2 x 900 megawatts, is setting new standards. Thanks to advanced power plant technology based on so-called supercritical steam parameters, Waigaoqiao II is already cutting CO2 emissions by 2.1 million tons a year. The combined cycle power plant (CCPP) Huaneng in Shanghai is one of China's most efficient power plants. The three units – each with a capacity of 400 MW – achieve an efficiency of 58%. This type plant combines a gas turbine and a steam turbine, thus offering the many benefits of both types. But efficient power transmission also has an important role to play in climate protection.

In this sector, Siemens' Power Transmission Group has, among other things, signed a contract within the last year to provide efficient power distribution for Chong Qing, one of China's up-and-coming industrial locations. The world's largest conurbations, which is a center for the Chinese automobile and motorcycle industry, has been one of Siemens' most important regions in China since 1995. Siemens' Industrial Solutions and Services Group and the company's Automation and Drives Group are ensuring more efficient energy utilization in a large number of factories in the Chong Qing area.

The Chinese megacities clearly demonstrate the climate-friendly benefits of public transportation systems of the kind supplied by Siemens' Transportation Systems Group. Solutions for rapid transit and long-distance rail links guarantee the problem-free transportation of passengers within and between China's cities. In Beijing, the extension of Metro Line 5 is a key project for Siemens. When it is completed, north-south journeys across the city will be much faster and less complicated. Siemens is also equipping Metro Line 10 and its branch line to the Olympic Games sites with state-of-the-art signaling and control systems. The use of Siemens technologies will enable the trains to be run at much closer intervals, with their actual frequency adjusted rapidly and flexibly to passenger volumes. Siemens metro trains are already successfully operating in Shanghai.

The construction of the high-speed line between Tianjin and Beijing is a key project in the long-distance transportation sector. To provide an optimal link between the two locations of the Olympic Games, this stretch of China's planned high-speed network will be completed first, by 2008. To expand the line, the Chinese railway ministry has placed a EU669-million order for 60 high-speed Velaro CN trains from Siemens. The first trains of this type – which will be able to reach speeds between the two cities of 300 kilometers per hour – will be in operation in time for the 2008 Olympic Games. The Guangzhou metro is another major TS project. The Siemens Group is installing the metro's power supply, operations control and passenger information systems. TS is also supplying 40 metro trains this year.