Enhanced Aging of Black Carbon under Recent Clean Air Actions and Future Carbon Neutrality Scenario in China

China has implemented strict emission control measures, but it is unclear how they affect black carbon (BC) aging and light absorption. Here, we use the Community Atmosphere Model version 6 (CAM6) with the four-mode version of the Modal Aerosol Module coupled with machine learning (MAM4-ML) to simulate BC aging during 2011-2018 and 2050/2100 following a carbon neutrality scenario (SSP1-2.6), respectively. During 2011-2018, the mass ratio of coatings to BC (R_BC) widely increased (5.4% yr^-1) over the east of China. The increased secondary organic aerosol (SOA) coatings dominate (88%) the increased R_BC, while the sulfate coatings decrease. The drivers of BC coating changes come from the different magnitudes of emission reductions in secondary aerosol precursors (i.e., volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and SO₂) and BC. During 2011-2018, the increased R_BC enhances the BC mass absorption cross section (MAC, 0.7% yr^-1). In 2050/2100 for SSP1-2.6, emission control leads to further increased R_BC (95/145%) and BC MAC (12/17%). For both 2011-2018 and 2050/2100, the enhanced BC MAC partly offsets the declining direct radiative effect (DRE) of BC due to direct emission reduction. As a result, the full impact of direct emission reductions of BC on BC DRE is only 75% for 2011-2018 and 90/94% for 2050/2100.