China has made a “rapid rise” over the last 20 years to become one of the leading research nations in green technologies, German media reported on Sunday, citing a new study by the German think-tank Bertelsmann Stiftung.

“In terms of research dynamics, no other country can keep up with China,” as the country is “the most important driver of growth” in green technologies worldwide, according to the study.

In terms of world-class patents, the top 10 percent of patents for a particular technology, China is already in second place, only after the United States. The country has more than tripled its world-class patents in green technologies to 37,000 since 2017, while the share of the United States, Japan, and the European Union saw declines.

In most categories, China is among the top three research locations worldwide, but is already number one in the category “Sustainable consumables/recycling.” The country has nearly doubled its global share in this category over the last five years to almost 40 percent.

Since 2006, the Chinese government’s efforts to support the circular economy have led to higher resource productivity and the relative decoupling of resource consumption from gross domestic product growth, according to the study.

In particular, drinking water treatment and the recycling of batteries and fuel cells, cement recycling and the recycling of plastics, glass, paper, electronics and consumer waste were “to be highlighted as Chinese strengths,” the study said.

China made the largest share of its world-class green technology patents in the field of efficient production. Above all, networked production (smart factory), efficient industrial production in the petrochemical and textile industries and digital agriculture were “of great importance.”