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.

欧洲的巴士车库或许看似并非揭示其与中国经济联系“真相”的理想场所。这里说的并非某些欧洲政客在简短发言中宣扬的那种真相，而是体现在电子表格、维修记录和事故报告中的真实数据。当政客们用精心斟酌的措辞讨论“安全风险”和“战略依赖”时，那些每天实际负责城市客运的人们早已做出判断：中国制造的电动巴士正是他们所需。

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.

在德国、比利时和奥地利，公共交通运营商纷纷选择比亚迪和宇通客车生产的公交车，尽管政治层面的担忧始终如影随形。一位德国高管坦言，质量、安全和可靠性比产地更重要。

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 aboutrhetoric and commuters who do not accept excuses. When ideology meets hard demands, ideology is usually the one that blinks.

欧洲在此面临着难以化解的矛盾。一方面，政客们或表达“忧虑”，或夸张地鼓吹“间谍活动”、“数据隐私”和“战略依赖”；另一方面，交通部门则直面严苛的气候目标时间表——这些目标不理会空谈，通勤者也不接受借口。当意识形态遭遇严峻要求时，通常是意识形态先退让。

Chinese electric buses, inconveniently for the "anti-China" narrative, perform as asked. The advantages of BYD'sblade 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.

中国电动巴士的表现符合预期，这让“反华论调”颇为尴尬。比亚迪刀片电池的优势并非宣传噱头（除非对巴士发烧友而言）。中国电动巴士是降低风险、让司机安心的设计选择。宇通的软件系统被欧洲测试人员赞誉为比现有系统更快更集成，绝非所谓的“特洛伊木马”，而是生产力的升级。在利润微薄、情绪易躁的公共交通领域，这些实质性改进远比口号更重要。

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".

市场揭示了真实情况。中国制造的电动巴士如今在欧洲车队更新中占据显著份额，运营商对其品牌认可度极高。这源于中国制造业已跨越从“廉价”到“可靠”的门槛，如今更迈入“令人信服的优质”境界。

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.

这一飞跃并非凭空而来。过去数年间，中国持续投入资金用于电动汽车研发，重点布局高端制造、电池、电力电子及智能系统领域。

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.

讽刺的是，当一些西方经济体忙于“去风险”和“脱钩”时，中国却在加速推进这些领域的发展。面对技术限制和政治逆风，中国并未退缩。它通过攻克关键技术瓶颈，在加速奔向自力更生的同时，不断扩大开放、多元化伙伴关系并扩大合作规模。在此背景下，北京在上周五的最新举措中强调，要充分发挥中国比较优势，推动未来产业持续取得突破性发展。

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.

当某些西方政客竭力关闭大门以维护本国经济的所谓“安全”时，中国决策者却呼吁敞开大门，并在关键领域推出目标明确、期限清晰的专项路线图。于是，当某些国家的企业在政客的消极态度中举棋不定时，中国企业正加倍投入创新，将重大难题分解为可攻克的小目标逐一攻克。面对气候危机，两种应对策略——空谈派与实干派已产生截然不同的结果：前者试图通过阻断合作来规避风险，后者则致力于通过创新将风险转化为机遇。

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.

近期中国与欧盟、中国与加拿大之间达成的电动汽车协议及磋商，暗示着一种默认：此前对中国电动汽车的限制更多源于政治因素而非技术考量。具体而言，是来自华盛顿的压力。当涉及预算问题时，务实态度往往会重新浮现，此次似乎也不例外。

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.

2025年中国新能源车销量达1649万辆，连续11年蝉联全球第一；出口量同比增长103.7%至262万辆，覆盖全球180多个国家和地区。相较传统燃油车，新能源车全生命周期碳排放量降低40%以上。由此，中国新能源车已成为全球减排的核心解决方案。但中国车企仍需持续投入创新，绝无喘息之机。唯有让技术成功带动整个产业生态升级，制造业强国才能蜕变为价值驱动型强国。

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

那些质疑中国电动汽车的西方唱衰者应当明白，电动巴士绝非宣扬意识形态的合适载体。政治博弈或许能暂时阻滞车流，但市场自有其方式；清清嗓子，继续前行。

maneuvering

/məˈnuː.vɚ.ɪŋ/

n.博弈

rhetoric

/ˈret̬.ɚ.ɪk/

n.空谈

Pragmatism

/ˈpræɡ.mə.tɪ.zəm/

务实主义

naysayers

/ˈneɪˌseɪ.ɚ/

唱衰者