Business partnerships will keep forming between smart and eco small and medium-sized enterprises. Examples include PassivSystems of Britain and JinkoSolar of China introducing a complete smart home energy management solution into the Chinese market; or Prudent Energy of Beijing, a battery energy storage company co-invested by Idinvest Partners, acquiring Canadian technology to leverage China's low manufacturing costs and access to the world's largest wind power market.

Overall, China's electricity generation from renewable sources will account for more than 15 percent of total electricity generation by 2020.

We are seeing a new urban planning shift toward compact cities with sophisticated mobility systems that integrate multimodal systems.

Patrick Schuler is the founder of SmartEcoCity Partners and manages Idinvest Partners and EDF's Electranova Capital green smart-up portfolio in Asia. He is based in Shanghai. He spoke to Lukas Thibaut. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.