“I want to buy a Chinese electric vehicle!” Exclusive interview with two former leaders of developed countries: how to respond to the Middle East energy crisis

Everyday Business News reporter | Zhang Huaishui    Everyday Business News editor | Liao Dan

In recent days, the escalation of the Iran–U.S. war has driven a surge in global energy prices, shaking the global economy.

During the 2026 annual meeting of the Boao Forum for Asia, reporters from the Daily Economic News (hereinafter NBD) interviewed former President Danilo Türk of Slovenia and former Prime Minister John Hipkins of New Zealand. Slovenia is an EU member state and a high-income economy, while New Zealand is a developed economy in the Commonwealth. Both countries have been recognized as developed economies by international institutions such as the United Nations and the IMF (International Monetary Fund).

Both of these former leaders of developed countries expressed strong concern about the current Middle East situation tightening and pushing up energy prices. They believe that an energy transition is urgently needed, and they highly recognize China’s global leading position in the fields of photovoltaic (solar) technology and new energy vehicles.

Türk was even more explicit, saying, “Right now I’m driving a Toyota. I previously drove a Volvo. In the future, I plan to switch to an electric car, and I will definitely choose a Chinese brand, because there are so many models to choose from.”

AI is driving an exponential increase in energy demand, and more solutions need to be explored in the photovoltaic sector

NBD: How do you view the impact of the U.S.–Iran war on the global energy landscape? Will it accelerate the global move away from fossil fuels?

**Hipkins: **Driven by the Middle East situation, what the world is generally worried about at present is that energy prices will keep rising. But what I care more about is what is fundamentally driving the increase in energy demand. At present, one important reason is the explosion of AI (artificial intelligence) and digital industries. Data centers need to consume huge amounts of electricity, and in the future, quantum computing will cause energy demand to grow in an exponential, doubling manner. Countries are competing to attract data centers to be built, which further pushes up energy prices.

We see that China has not only made breakthroughs in new energy technologies such as nuclear power, but is also a global leader in solar technology. Many countries, including New Zealand, use China’s technology to build solar power plants. New energy not only provides new energy supply, but also strongly aligns with sustainable development, which is crucial to the future energy landscape.

It is undeniable that as energy prices continue to rise, some countries’ governments and people can no longer afford them. Therefore, it is necessary for the tech community to develop greener and more cost-effective technologies, producing more energy with the same—if not fewer—resources. In this regard, we see that China’s economic and social development has brought greater electricity and energy consumption, but at the same time its capacity for innovation in new energy is also very strong, and overall development is relatively balanced. So, against the backdrop of turmoil in the international energy landscape, we hope to hear more voices from China and see more Chinese solutions.

**Türk: **As for the rise in oil prices, it is a situation that nobody wants to see—and it should not have happened in the first place. Fundamentally, it is a major mistake. The increase in oil prices is the adverse consequence caused by the U.S. and Israel’s military actions against Iran. The outbreak of war and unrest in the Middle East is something the entire world does not want to see. What the international community truly hopes for is a ceasefire and stability in the oil market.

Although we have been vigorously developing new energy such as photovoltaics and renewable energy, the world’s dependence on oil remains very high for now. Therefore, we must remain cautious on energy issues.

China is the global leader in the photovoltaic field—whether it is its manufacturing and production capacity for photovoltaic products or the practical application level of photovoltaic technology, it is among the top in the world. I personally have also conducted on-site inspections—for example, I visited areas such as the Kubuqi Desert, and I saw firsthand that the local area had built a large number of solar panels and photovoltaic projects, while also planting many trees to address desertification in this way. In this process, it not only effectively controls desertification and improves the ecological environment, but also helps drive agricultural development, and at the same time protects cities in northern China. Therefore, we should rely on photovoltaic products and photovoltaic technology to explore more comprehensive utilization solutions, and China has already taken the lead in this area.

I think the current issue is that China and the EU need to reach consensus on cooperation and applications in photovoltaic products, coordinate their respective domestic production capacities, and further conduct in-depth discussions on capacity-related matters.

At present, China is greatly increasing the scale of utilization of new energy and actively developing photovoltaics, wind power, and other types of new energy. Under the current energy situation, this is work that must be advanced, and China and the EU should join forces to cooperate and clarify each side’s actual needs for photovoltaic products.

The Middle East situation leads to higher fuel costs, hitting low- and middle-income households clearly

NBD: The Middle East crisis has led to a rise in international oil prices. What considerations do you have for your country’s energy security?

**Hipkins: **New Zealand currently has a highly export-dependent economy. We have only about 5 million people nationwide. The products produced domestically are far more than what we need ourselves, and a large portion of them must be exported to the rest of the world. Therefore, supply chains are crucial for us, and especially fuel supply—which is even more important for New Zealand.

When international crude oil prices rise, domestic gasoline and diesel prices also increase, which is especially evident in how much it affects low- and middle-income households in New Zealand. To address this, the government has rolled out a “top-up payments” program to provide relevant households with one-year subsidies to help them cope with the cost-of-living pressure caused by the rise in fuel prices. After the Middle East situation became tense, fuel costs rose further, making such subsidies very necessary to maintain people’s everyday lives.

At the same time, we are also joining hands with global partners to help stabilize supply chains. On the Middle East issue, although New Zealand’s stance is relatively low-profile, it has consistently spoken up in a responsible manner, calling on all parties to remain calm, strengthen cooperation, and work together to find solutions.

NBD: You just mentioned that the energy crisis in the Middle East has made everyone realize the importance of energy transition. For the EU, including your country, is energy transition a “must-do” option?

**Türk: **First, it must be made clear that the EU not only needs to serve the service sector and agriculture, but also needs industrial products. Promoting industrial manufacturing and modernization is an important direction for the EU’s future development. From a long-term geopolitical perspective, the EU will still be a key center for China’s manufacturing cooperation with and market for China. Therefore, China–EU ties should not focus only on competition. More importantly, they should place emphasis on policy-level coordination and cooperation.

The strong impression I have from coming to China is that China’s electric vehicle development momentum is robust. Not only does China have a broad future, but in Europe it also has tremendous potential. Therefore, energy transition is a question the EU must answer. China and the EU urgently need to build a technology-level cooperation framework, so as to better promote the development of the electric vehicle industry and also drive related areas such as the labor market.

I believe that relevant policies still have shortcomings at present. Chinese electric vehicles have already successfully entered the European market—for example, in Slovenia, people there previously knew almost nothing about Chinese car brands, but now more and more people are driving Chinese-made electric vehicles. So Chinese electric vehicles have every reason to go global. However, during the process of going abroad, how to manage it and achieve balanced development requires joint efforts by enterprises on both sides of China and the EU, as well as the establishment of a corresponding cooperation framework.

As a former president of Slovenia, I previously drove a Volvo. After living in the United States for a long time, I sold the Volvo and returned to Slovenia, where I bought a Toyota. In the future, I plan to switch to an electric vehicle, and I will definitely choose a Chinese brand, because there are many models to choose from.

The market potential for new energy vehicles is huge; China–EU cooperation is the only way forward

NBD: You just mentioned that you plan to switch to an electric vehicle in the future. In Slovenia, has anyone felt the pressure brought by rising oil prices?

**Türk: **My family and I actually don’t rely heavily on fuel cars, because we live in the city center and I basically walk to work. But overall, Slovenia still has a very high dependence on automobiles. Many people also care a great deal about whether they can own a car, and this situation will most likely not change in the future. Therefore, we remain very sensitive to oil prices and oil supply.

Although Slovenia has sufficient oil reserves and the government says people don’t need to worry, sometimes the public does not fully believe such statements. It is undeniable that the rise in oil prices has already been passed through to the consumer end. In our country, what truly troubles people is those who need long-distance commuting. Many Slovenians live in towns or rural areas. Every day they must drive to work early and return late, and the increase in oil prices affects them a lot.

In addition, agricultural production also depends heavily on fuel. Farm machinery such as tractors require gasoline and diesel, and farmers are also starting to worry whether fuel supply will be sufficient and whether it will affect normal farming.

NBD: Based on what you said, Europe has also been thinking about the energy transition for a long time. As China and the EU have achieved some progress in negotiations on electric vehicles this year, how do you view the potential of China’s new energy vehicles in Europe—including the Slovenian market?

**Türk: **I’m not an expert in the new energy vehicle sector, but I can clearly see that Europe’s market demand for new energy vehicles is continuing to grow. This is undoubtedly a positive signal and will, to a large extent, help address the pressure that rising oil prices bring to governments and the public. The key, however, is how to manage the market in a standardized, orderly way.

Chinese leaders have also repeatedly emphasized that cooperation should uphold a win-win approach. It should benefit both China and Europe. China and the EU should jointly explore win-win cooperation paths, always oriented toward win-win outcomes.

It is undeniable that the market potential for new energy vehicles is huge. During the course of cooperation, there may inevitably be tendencies toward conservatism and exclusivity, but that is by no means the right way to solve the problem. I firmly believe that in the future, China and the EU will definitely find reasonable and feasible cooperation solutions.