Photo: Zhang Jingang/Xinhua/AFP
Eurasia
26/09/2025 15:58
China’s rapid expansion in renewable energy and digital infrastructure is reshaping not only its own economy but also the global green transition, argues Wang Huiyao, founder of the Beijing-based Centre for China and Globalisation, in a recent article published by the South China Morning Post.
According to Wang, China’s progress in clean energy deployment has been striking. In 2023 alone, the country installed more solar capacity than the rest of the world combined and doubled the number of new wind power facilities globally. The resulting economies of scale have sharply reduced costs: the price of solar panels fell by more than half between 2023 and 2024, largely driven by Chinese production.
These advances are having international repercussions. Wang highlights how Chinese solar technology and battery storage systems are electrifying remote communities in Africa through microgrids, while Southeast Asia and Latin America are accelerating their own green transitions thanks to affordable imports from China.
Domestically, the scale of China’s renewable energy system is unmatched. By 2024, the country had reached 436 gigawatts of hydropower, 521 gigawatts of wind and 887 gigawatts of solar capacity. To distribute this clean power efficiently, China has also built the world’s highest-altitude ultra-high-voltage transmission lines, enabling electricity to be moved across vast distances.
Beyond energy, China has invested heavily in digital connectivity. The country now operates 4.5 million 5G base stations, serving over a billion people and accounting for more than 60 per cent of global coverage as of 2023. More than 110 so-called “gigabit cities” boast 5G access rates above 80 per cent. Meanwhile, the government’s “Eastern Data, Western Computing” plan aims to build eight computing hubs and 10 major data centre clusters in the country’s west, where renewable energy is abundant and cheaper.
Wang also points to China’s extensive transport network as a backbone for growth. Its high-speed rail lines stretch over 45,000km—more than the rest of the world combined—while its expressway system covers 177,000km. With the world’s second-largest civil aviation market, seven of the top 10 container ports, and freight rail links to Europe that have carried 11 million containers in the past 13 years, China is deeply connected to global trade.
These connections are being reinforced as Chinese companies expand production abroad. Electric vehicle plants in Brazil and Indonesia, along with renewable energy projects in Africa and West Asia, are creating jobs, transferring technology and diversifying supply chains.
While critics focus on weaknesses in China’s property sector and its uneven post-pandemic recovery, Wang insists the economy is no longer dependent on a single growth driver. With high household savings and strong investment in science and technology, China has the capacity to sustain long-term expansion.
He emphasises the “multiplier effects” of China’s physical and digital infrastructure, which allows research breakthroughs to quickly translate into mass production. Innovations in battery chemistry strengthen China’s dominance in electric vehicles, while advances in high-performance computing and artificial intelligence spill over into logistics, healthcare and materials science.
The shift underway, Wang argues, is one from an economy built on real estate and low-cost exports to one led by talent, innovation and sustainable growth. He acknowledges the transition brings challenges, but believes China’s universities, laboratories and infrastructure provide the foundation to overcome them.
“The 21st century belongs to the pioneers of green technology,” Wang concludes, contending that China’s synergy of infrastructure, talent and research puts it at the forefront of this transformation. With continued reforms and adaptability, he writes, the country is positioned to weather global uncertainties while shaping future growth both domestically and abroad.
