CDF Voice | Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman & CEO of TotalEnergies

It is my pleasure and honor to share my story with the China Development Forum, a platform that has played a significant role in fostering dialogue and collaboration between China and the world.

I first participated in 2015 and have attended all China Development Forum events since, 10 sessions in total including the remotely held session during the pandemic.

The China Development Forum is indeed a major event for a global CEO like me to engage and share insights and build lasting relationships with our counterparts in China. It has given me the opportunity to closely observe and appreciate the evolution of China over the last decade.

My inaugural session as TotalEnergies CEO in 2015 was marked by the introduction of China’s “One Belt, One Road” initiative. During the Forum, I advocated for the development of natural gas and renewable energy to reduce coal dependency and address climate change. Three years later, in 2018, we celebrated the 40th anniversary of China’s reform and opening-up. This milestone underscored China’s commitment to economic modernization and global integration.

The 2019 session was particularly significant to me and to TotalEnergies as it hosted the first debates on the Carbon Neutrality Goal, later proposed by President Xi in 2020 with the dual target of peak carbon emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060. This goes to show that the China Development Forum has consistently played a vital role in anticipating and shaping future visions.While 2020 brought unprecedented challenges with the Covid-19 pandemic, China Development Forum adapted seamlessly to a virtual format, ensuring that critical discussions continued unabated.

Most recently, the 2024 session focused on the momentum and prospects of China’s continuous development, taking a general view of the overall recovery and improvement of China’s economy and discussing China’s measures to develop new productivity and promote high-tech, high-efficiency and high-quality economic development.

Throughout these years, I have had the privilege to contribute to various debates such as the China Development Forum. In 2019, I emphasized the importance of greater opening-up for a win-win scenario, highlighting the significance of international energy cooperation and multilateral efforts under the Belt and Road framework. I shared the cooperation achievements between TotalEnergies and CNPC in the Inner Mongolia natural gas project and in Russia and Iraq, and also the international cooperation with CNOOC in Africa (Nigeria and Uganda).

Another memorable event was in 2023, when I addressed the forum with the “energy trilemma”: aiming at ensuring energy security, maintaining affordability, achieving the energy transition. I shared insights on TotalEnergies’ dual strategy, which is to develop a balanced, integrated multi-energy strategy built around two pillars: hydrocarbons (including LNG) produced at low cost and with low emissions, and electricity, mostly from renewable sources. I also underscored China’s leadership in the energy transition.

As we celebrate China Development Forum’s 25th anniversary, I look forward to continuing our journey of mutual growth and contributing to its success.

Thank you for this opportunity to share my relationship with CDF, and how I consider this annual event and think-tank very valuable to the better understanding between China and a global company such as TotalEnergies.

I hope it will inspire others to engage with the China Development Forum.

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