China’s “new three” products – photovoltaic solar panels, lithium-ion batteries and “new-energy vehicles” – have been labelled as the “new growth points for exports” since early 2023 by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce. This followed what the ministry described as the “extremely difficult year” of 2022 for China’s foreign trade. The three categories are also driving the growing economic performance of clean-energy technologies, which comprised more than 10% of China’s GDP in 2024, according to analysis published by Carbon Brief. In 2023, the total exports of the “new three” reached $148bn, up 30% year-on-year. The phrase is an update of the term “old three”, which refers to household appliances, furniture and clothing – the drivers behind China’s earlier economic boom. The tech-heavy “new three” are representative of China being a global “pioneer” in technological development, rather than a “successor” of western technology, reported state broadcaster CCTV. President Xi has also described them as “creating huge green market opportunities” at the 2023 APAC meeting.