Introduction
China’s leadership in clean energy technology is transforming the global fight against climate change. This dominance stems not from altruistic intentions, but from a strategic alignment of its geopolitical and economic power with the fight against climate change, focusing on energy transition.
China’s Clean Energy Production and Export
China not only produces and deploys clean energy on a massive scale within its borders but also makes these technologies available to the world at affordable prices, particularly in developing countries. By providing technological and financial tools to reduce emissions, China indirectly improves living conditions in these nations.
- Countries like Pakistan, India, Nigeria, and South Africa have seen a significant increase in clean energy generation thanks to Chinese solar panels.
- Affordable energy from China-provided technologies enables people to cope with extreme heat, thanks to air conditioning.
- Chinese batteries, combined with solar panels, are making homes, industries, and services energy independent from the grid, while also charging electric vehicles.
Impact on Global Energy Market
As a result, large energy companies are losing customers and revenue, finding themselves in an unsustainable financial situation due to fixed costs associated with fossil fuel power generation and transmission.
China’s Clean Energy Dominance
By 2025, China will generate more clean energy than coal for the first time globally. This is largely due to China making clean energy significantly cheaper than fossil fuels.
- By 2035, China’s installed solar and wind capacity will reach 3,600 GW, which is 40 times the total generation capacity in Mexico.
- This will be six times larger than the combined solar and wind capacity in Europe and 11 times that of the United States.
- China manufactures 60-80% of the world’s solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicles, and lithium-ion batteries.
- The green technology sector now accounts for 10% of China’s GDP and 26% of its economic growth.
Nuclear Energy and Technological Advancements
China is constructing 30 out of the 60 nuclear power plants underway worldwide, making them more accessible through technological standardization and economies of scale.
Moreover, China is developing small, modular, and low-cost nuclear reactors that will revolutionize the electricity sector.
Simultaneously, China has effectively addressed its severe air pollution problem, which was a significant concern in the early 2000s.
All these advancements are happening while China rapidly modernizes its transmission network.
Geopolitical Implications
China views the fight against global warming as a massive opportunity, driving economic growth, employment, exports, prestige, and global influence.
By promoting clean energy worldwide, China gains significant “soft power” through its exports of solar panels, wind turbines, batteries, electric vehicles, high-speed trains, and nuclear power plants.
This, coupled with technology transfer, technical assistance, financing, and diplomacy, gives China considerable weight in international negotiations, opening doors for further investments in industries and infrastructure, even military bases.
China achieves this while the United States, under pressure from Trump, retreats from the most significant geopolitical and technological race of the 21st century.
China generates more wealth and jobs from clean energy than the United States does from fossil fuels.
Although China still builds coal-fired power plants and relies heavily on coal in its energy mix, this is due to a reasonable concern for sovereignty and security, as well as a rapid process of electrifying its entire economy.
Despite being the largest CO2 emitter currently, China’s per capita emissions are lower than those of the United States and Australia. Mexico’s government ignores China at its own risk.
