They have a choice. They can price carbon domestically and enable their companies to be competitive exporting to Europe, or they can not price carbon, and have their companies lag globally.

Given that China has a carbon price, one that will increase from its current low levels fairly rapidly as China has invested heavily in decarbonization, no one will want to be left behind.

Of course, they could decarbonize without a carbon price too, it's just a lot harder as pricing carbon is such a useful lever.