New energy, "new infrastructure" and industry will be key to the pursuit of high-quality development, but the way forward can be challenging, a panel of experts said during a discussion at the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2023 on Wednesday.

"It is generally accepted that high-quality development … will require green, low carbon energy, integrated development modes of infrastructure, and the development of a variety of new industries based on digital technologies," said Danilo Turk, a member of the BFA Council of Advisors and former president of Slovenia.

Despite the already existing complexity, Turk said geopolitical confrontation, nationalism and other issues can make it even more complicated and difficult to carry out the implementation of innovation.

Turk was speaking in a panel discussion on "New Energy, New Infrastructure, New Industry" at the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2023 in Boao, a coastal town in China's island province of Hainan.

Song Hailiang, chairman of China Energy Engineering Group Co, said new energy is the foundation upon which "new infrastructure "and industry can be developed.

Speaking on the advancements in hydrogen technology, Song said there is a huge potential in the storage and application of this new energy as it has been applied in a wide range of scenarios thanks to its lower cost.

Global hydrogen demand reached 94 million tons in 2021, exceeding the previous annual high of 91 million tons in 2019, according to the International Energy Agency.

As electricity accounts for 60-70 percent of the total cost of a data center, the rapid development of artificial intelligence has resulted in rising demand for computing and energy, said Liu Yunjie, an academician with the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

New network structures and technologies will be critical to support for digitalization of the energy system, said Liu, who is also director of Purple Mountain Laboratories, a key innovation platform in networking and communications.

Lou Qiliang, general manager of China's leading train maker CRRC Group, said the green transformation has brought huge opportunities and the company is now working to further explore the wind power market.

In order to make new energy more accessible, three issues need to be addressed: high-end technologies, industry clustering and applications, said Zhang Chuanwei, chairman of Mingyang Smart Energy Group.

Developing renewable energy requires a lot of investment and infrastructure, said Chimed Khurelbaatar, deputy prime minister and minister of economy and development of Mongolia, noting achieving zero carbon emissions is a huge challenge for the country. Mongolia, he said, would welcome investors from China.

Though Pakistan accounts for less than 1 percent of global carbon emissions, the catastrophic floods in 2022 caused a loss of more than $30 billion, with 33 million people, or one in seven, being affected, said Ahsan Iqbal, Pakistan's minister for planning, development and special initiatives. "Climate change is a reality. If it has hit Pakistan last year, it can hit anyone anywhere tomorrow.