On September 24, 2025, Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered video remarks at the United Nations Climate Summit, unveiling China’s latest Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and setting the world on notice about Beijing’s renewed commitment to combating climate change. China announced that by 2035, it aims to reduce economy-wide net greenhouse gas emissions by 7 to 10 percent from peak levels, while striving to achieve even better results. Against a backdrop of faltering global climate cooperation and increasingly politicized environmental agendas, China’s commitment represents not just a national target but a signal to the world that climate responsibility remains a priority for major powers.

The international community’s reception to Xi’s announcement has been overwhelmingly positive. UN Secretary-General António Guterres lauded China’s plan, describing it as “extremely important” for global climate action. Experts and commentators alike noted that the clarity, ambition, and systemic nature of China’s pledge provide a much-needed boost to international climate governance at a time when collective action faces both political and logistical obstacles.

At the heart of China’s plan is the “1 3 3” framework, a systematic approach designed to translate broad ambitions into measurable and actionable steps. The framework consists of one overarching target, three quantitative indicators, and three qualitative indicators. The quantitative measures include the share of non-fossil fuels in total energy consumption, installed capacity for wind and solar power, and total forest stock volume. Meanwhile, the qualitative measures aim to make new energy vehicles (NEVs) the mainstream in sales of new vehicles, expand China’s National Carbon Emissions Trading Market to cover major high-emission sectors, and work toward establishing a climate-adaptive society.

Notably, this is the first time China has set an absolute emission reduction target that encompasses economy-wide net greenhouse gas emissions. Unlike prior commitments,........

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