Chinese electric buses prove just the ticket: China Daily editorial

Europe's bus depots might seem an unlikely place to discover the "truth" of its economic ties with China. Not the kind delivered in some European politicians' sound bites, but the kind that shows up on spreadsheets, maintenance logs and accident reports. While these politicians debate "security risks" and "strategic dependence" in carefully calibrated sentences, the people, who actually have to move human beings around cities every day, are making their judgment: Chinese electric buses are what they need.

Across Germany, Belgium and Austria, public transport operators are choosing buses made by BYD and Yutong, even as political anxiety makes a noise in the background. One German executive admitted that quality, safety and reliability matter more than where the buses are made.

Here lies the tension Europe cannot quite resolve. On the one side are some politicians expressing their "worries", and others theatrically invoking "espionage", "data privacy" and "strategic dependence". On the other side are transport authorities staring down the hard calendar of climate targets that do not care about rhetoric and commuters who do not accept excuses. When ideology meets hard demands, ideology is usually the one that blinks.

Chinese electric buses, inconveniently for the "anti-China" narrative, perform as asked. The advantages of BYD's blade batteries are not talking points, except to bus aficionados. They are design choices that reduce risk and calm drivers. Yutong's software, praised by European testers as faster and more integrated than systems they already use, is by no means a so-called "Trojan horse". It is a productivity upgrade. In public transport, where margins are thin and tempers thinner, such things matter more than slogans.

The market tells the true story. Chinese-made electric buses now command a significant share of Europe's fleet renewals, and brand recognition among operators is high. That is because Chinese manufacturing has crossed the line from "cheap" to "competent", and now to "convincingly good".

That leap did not occur in a vacuum. Over the past years, China has poured sustained investment into electric vehicle research and development, with a focus on high-end manufacturing, batteries, power electronics and intelligent systems.

The irony is that much of this progress accelerated during the years when some Western economies were busy "de-risking" and "decoupling". Confronted with technology restrictions and political headwinds, China did not retreat. It sprinted toward self-reliance by overcoming key technological choke points, while simultaneously expanding openness, diversifying partners and scaling up cooperation. In its latest move on Friday in this regard, Beijing urged efforts to leverage the country's comparative advantages to promote continuous breakthroughs in the development of industries of the future.

While some Western politicians spare no effort to safeguard their economies' so-called "security" by shutting doors, Chinese policymakers have called for opening doors wider and rolled out targeted road maps with clear objectives and deadlines across key sectors. So while the enterprises in certain countries waver amid their politicians' inertia, their Chinese counterparts are doubling down on innovation — breaking down major problems into smaller nuts to crack one by one. The two approaches to the climate crisis — talk shop and workshop — have produced very different results. One has tried to manage risk by blocking engagement; the other has tried to transform risk into opportunity by pursuing innovation.

Recent EV deals and consultations between China and the European Union, and between China and Canada, suggest a tacit admission: earlier restrictions on Chinese EVs were driven less by engineering concerns than by politics — specifically, pressure from Washington. Pragmatism seems to have returned, as it tends to do when budgets are involved.

China's NEV sales hit 16.49 million units in 2025, ranking first globally for 11 consecutive years; its NEV exports surged 103.7 percent year-on-year to 2.62 million units, serving over 180 countries and regions worldwide. NEVs cut carbon emissions by over 40 percent in the full life cycle compared with fuel cars. Therefore, Chinese NEVs have become a core solution for global carbon emissions reduction. But Chinese EV makers have no respite as they need to continue to invest in innovation. That is how a manufacturing powerhouse becomes a value-driven one — by letting technological success lift the entire industrial ecosystem.

Those Western naysayers of Chinese EVs should realize that electric bus is a poor vehicle for ideology. Political maneuvering may slow traffic temporarily, but markets have a way of clearing their throats and moving on.