With a population in excess of 1.3 billion, not only has China become the world's fastest growing economy it is also now the world's fastest growing 'green economy' and is now poised to show the rest of the world that a low carbon economy and growth are not at odds.

For years, China has been, and rightfully so, depicted as a dirty latecomer to the industrial revolution, building coal-fired power plants on a weekly basis, spewing millions of tons of soot into the atmosphere around the clock. These are notions that are embedded into the perception of the world's collective psyche as China put its economic power into overdrive, poised to surpass the economic powers to the west. This global perception and subsequent pressure at both Kyoto and Barcelona's energy summits along with an economic necessity are changing the outlook of that global picture rather rapidly.

China's Suntech (NYSE: STP) is now the world's leading producer of solar photovoltaic panels. Having raised billions of dollars on the US stock exchange investors around the world are catching China's green train as renewable energy companies in China are showing triple digit growth and eclipsing the competition.

The fields of wind turbines outside Urumqi pictured above illustrate just how China's wind energy capacity has doubled in size in each of the past three years and is forecast to be the biggest in the world by the end of 2009.

China's also a leading renewable energy producer in hydroelectric and wind power generation. Investments in renewable energy have sky-rocketed over the last few years, boosting technology deployment and spurring technological innovation. particularly with clean-coal technology maturing.

China has also started to export the technologies to other countries at extremely competitive prices. The electric bicycle and energy-efficient compact-car industry is also growing fast and domestic manufacturers are now rolling out their first generation of electric cars.

The green revolution taking place in China is also going someway to debunk the myth that China is merely a consumer of green technologies. The west is, and needs to continue, investing millions of dollars in the clean technologies that China is developing. It will be a revolution that will benefit everyone, wherever they are.