China's BYD F6DM, powered by electric motors and gasoline engine, is displayed at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), in Detroit, the United States, January 11, 2009. [Hu Guangyao/Xinhua]

Behind BYD's remarkable move is China's tremendous efforts to promote green technology even though the global economic slump seems to have moderated the ambition of some countries to fight global warming.

Under a plan to transform its economic development mode into one featuring "less input, less consumption, less emission and high efficiency," China pledges to cut the energy consumption used to generate per unit of GDP by 20 percent and major pollutants emissions by 10 percent between 2006 and 2010.

And the car industry, one of the major emission producers, has drawn fair attention from the government. Over the last 10 years, China has spent nearly 2 billion yuan (US$294 million) developing cars using alternative energies.

During the Beijing Olympics last summer, about 400 electric vehicles and more than 100 hybrid vehicles were used, as part of the government's efforts to raise public awareness about clean energy.

It may not be easy for China to upgrade its economic structure, especially under the current international economic situation. It is equally a serious challenge to maintain an economic growth of 8 percent in the world's most populous country as the traditional exports of textiles and manufacturing products declined due to shrinking demand from Western countries.

But at the Detroit auto show, the Chinese showed that they have the determination to reach their goal -- to maintain a fast but steady economic growth while seeking to build an energy-saving eco-society.

(Xinhua News Agency January 22, 2009)