A panoramic view of the Huaxin Diwei Cement facility in Chongqing, southwest China.
[Photo: CGTN Radio]
Standing inside a cement factory in Chongqing, one of China’s major industrial hubs, the first thing that strikes visitors is not what they see, but what they don’t.
There is no thick smoke drifting from chimneys. No dust hanging in the air. Instead, birds fly between trees planted throughout the factory grounds, while workers oversee production from enclosed control rooms.
For many outside China, heavy industry remains closely associated with pollution. Yet across parts of the country, manufacturers are trying to rewrite that image as China pursues its “Dual Carbon” goals of peaking carbon emissions before 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060.
The challenge is not to be underestimated. Industry accounts for roughly two-thirds of China’s carbon emissions, making it one of the country’s most difficult sectors to decarbonize. Unlike electricity generation, where renewable energy can replace fossil fuels, many industrial processes produce carbon emissions through chemical reactions that are far harder to eliminate.
During several days of reporting in Chongqing, I visited cement plants, waste-to-energy facilities, smart automobile factories, logistics hubs and industrial parks. While each approached the problem differently, they all pointed toward the same conclusion: China’s industrial transition is becoming increasingly systemic rather than sector-specific.
Reinventing one of the world’s highest-emitting industries
Cement production alone is responsible for roughly eight percent of global carbon emissions.
At Huaxin Diwei Cement, managers say they have replaced more than 60 percent of their coal with industrial waste and discarded textiles, reducing coal consumption by around 27,000 tonnes annually. Waste that might otherwise end up in landfills instead becomes fuel, while by-products generated during combustion are processed into fertilizer, creating what the company describes as a closed-loop production system.
Yet the factory’s managers are equally open about the limits of current technology.
General Manager Zhou Zhipeng (center) briefs colleagues on plant operations at Huaxin Diwei Cement in Chongqing, China. [Photo: CGTN Radio]
Even if coal were replaced entirely, roughly half of cement’s emissions would remain because they come from the decomposition of limestone during production. Technologies such as carbon capture exist but remain expensive and difficult to deploy commercially at scale.
That frank assessment reflects a broader reality facing many energy-intensive industries: the easy gains have largely been made, while the remaining reductions will require technological breakthroughs and significant investment.
Digitalization as a climate tool
If the cement industry illustrates the limits of today’s technology, Chongqing’s smart manufacturing sector highlights where new opportunities are emerging.
At Changan Automobile’s fully connected smart factory, artificial intelligence coordinates thousands of vehicle configurations simultaneously. Automated guided vehicles transport components through the workshop, while digital platforms manage scheduling, logistics and assembly in real time.
An aerial view of Changan Automobile’s smart factory in Chongqing, China. [Photo: CGTN Radio]
Factory managers estimate that digital management, combined with rooftop solar generation and intelligent energy systems, has reduced overall energy consumption by about 19 percent compared with traditional factories of similar scale.
Digitalization is increasingly viewed as an emissions reduction strategy in its own right. Sensors continuously monitor energy use, allowing manufacturers to optimize production and reduce waste without sacrificing output.
Rather than producing less, factories are attempting to produce more efficiently.
Beyond individual factories
The transition extends well beyond factory gates.
In another part of Chongqing, household waste is converted into electricity at a waste-to-energy facility capable of processing around 3,000 tonnes of garbage each day. Elsewhere, hydrogen-powered heavy-duty trucks are beginning to replace diesel vehicles at logistics hubs serving western China’s trade corridors.
An overview of the Sanfeng Yulin waste-to-energy facility in Chongqing, China. [Photo: CGTN Radio]
Industrial parks are also experimenting with shared energy infrastructure, rooftop solar installations, microgrids and systems that allow waste heat from one factory to supply neighbouring facilities.
These developments suggest China’s industrial transition is increasingly being designed around interconnected ecosystems rather than individual enterprises.
Progress without perfection
Throughout the reporting trip, one message surfaced repeatedly.
No one claimed the transition was complete.
Managers acknowledged that some emissions remain unavoidable, many low-carbon technologies are still too expensive, and workforce adaptation remains an ongoing challenge as automation expands.
Yet the changes are tangible.
Robotic arms assemble vehicles at Changan Automobile’s smart factory in Chongqing, China.
[Photo: CGTN Radio]
They can be seen in quieter workshops, solar panels covering factory rooftops, digital control rooms replacing manual operations and supply chains that increasingly value lower-carbon products.
China’s industrial transition remains awork in progress. But in Chongqing, it is no longer an abstract policy objective. It is becoming a physical transformation. One factory, one logistics hub and one industrial park at a time.
Further Information:
The official website of CGTN Radio: https://radio.cgtn.com/
The link of our podcast Climate Watch: https://radio.cgtn.com/
The link of the episode on Chongqing’s industrial upgrade: https://radio.cgtn.
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