China can drive the global clean-tech revolution

As United States climate efforts recede under the Trump administration, global attention is pivoting to other countries, including China. This shift raises critical questions about the role Beijing should play on the global stage.

Should it focus on curbing domestic emissions or assume a leadership role by pioneering international initiatives? The answer lies in recognizing China’s potential through innovation. 

With its vast industrial scale and technological ingenuity, it is uniquely positioned to drive breakthroughs in critical clean technologies. From green hydrogen to negative-emissions solutions and smart grids, China could reshape both its economy and the planet’s future.

Credible net-zero roadmaps rely on renewable-powered grids and widespread electrification. Today, renewables generate roughly 30% of global electricity, while electrification meets 20% of final energy demand. 

The International Renewable Energy Agency projects renewables will supply 91% of global electricity by 2050 – a vision echoed by the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Progress offers optimism. Solar and wind now dominate new power installations, battery deployments doubled in 2023 and global electric vehicle sales have surged sixfold since 2018.

Renewable energy

Yet record emissions last year highlight the urgency for acceleration. Scaling up existing solutions is essential, but relying solely on current technologies risks stagnation. 

The IEA warns that net zero requires innovations that are still under development – particularly in solutions for managing long-duration variability in renewable energy. Electrifying harder-to-abate sectors and residual emissions also need addressing.

While global energy transition investments surpassed US$2 trillion in 2024, more than 90% flowed to mature technologies such as EVs and solar. 

Emerging solutions languish in the “innovation valley of death” – the gap between prototype and market-ready deployment.

China’s industrial and technological strengths could tip the scales. Its track record speaks for itself. From dominating solar panel production to leading battery manufacturing, China has demonstrated its ability to transform technologies into market-ready solutions.

The stakes are high. After decades of remarkable growth, traditional drivers are losing momentum. With property investment shrinking by 10.6% in 2024 and local governments fiscally constrained, China is prioritizing economic restructuring.

This is geared towards high-quality development, with a strong emphasis on high-tech and clean industries.

Early signs are promising. The “new three” sectors – solar panels, batteries and EVs – grew three times faster than the overall economy last year, adding $1.8 trillion to output. Yet these bright spots remain insufficient to offset weaknesses elsewhere. 

The new economy constituted just 17.4% of GDP in 2023, still dwarfed by traditional industries. This explains why the 5% growth target for 2024 still required short-term stimulus, highlighting the urgency of deeper restructuring.

Record lows

But doubling down on existing champions will not be effective. Domestic EV penetration has already exceeded 40%, and solar module prices have hit record lows due to excessive competition often described as “involution.” 

While perovskite solar cells and autonomous EVs promise evolutionary advances, mature sectors are unlikely to replicate the scaling that characterized their past growth.

Breakthroughs in emerging technologies will unlock new frontiers for high-value industries, reinforcing a “growing by greening” cycle in China. This dynamic could create sustained momentum and commitment for deeper energy transition.

As China’s energy transformation accelerates with clean electricity meeting more than 80% of new demand in 2024, the era of “more renewables, more coal” is nearing its end. 

Further progress now depends not just on adding clean megawatts, but on building mega systems, where long-duration energy storage and smart grids play critical roles. The stakes transcend economics and climate. 

As nations retreat into protectionist silos, the world risks splintering into rival camps. This is a dangerous trajectory that undermines collective solutions to climate catastrophe. Yet within this division lies an underappreciated opportunity. 

China can transform itself into a laboratory for global clean-tech collaboration, forging partnerships that transcend traditional alliances.

The nation’s rise as a powerhouse in this technology was never a solo endeavor – it hinged on global cooperation. Take EVs for example, where partnerships with European engineering firms and US battery companies converged to create an industry reshaping world markets. 

This is not mere imitation, but an open innovation at scale, where cross-border licensing, joint ventures and strategic acquisitions turn concepts into affordable, deployable solutions. Herein lies the strategic pivot. 

Climate crisis

Closer international collaboration, led by China, in co-developing and scaling emerging clean-tech solutions can transform the green transition into a shared economic imperative.

The logic is clear – pooled expertise accelerates research and development, scaled production drives down costs and diversified supply chains mitigate risk.

As the climate crisis intensifies and emissions deadlines loom, China has the opportunity show how pragmatic partnerships can drive the global clean-tech revolution. 

Isolation, by contrast, risks fracturing progress when unity is an existential imperative.

Muyi Yang is a Senior Researcher at Ember, a global energy think tank, the Secretary of the International Society for Energy Transition Studies and a non-resident Senior Policy Fellow at Asia Society Australia.

This edited article is republished from East Asia Forum under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy of China Factor.