China Is Leading the World in the Clean Energy Transition. Here's What That Looks Like

At the recent UN Climate Summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasized the importance of maintaining global commitment to the clean energy transition, implicitly contrasting China’s approach with the more inconsistent policies of countries like the United States and the European Union. While many nations have faltered or shown limited progress—due to geopolitical conflicts, internal divisions, or insufficient action—China has emerged as a clear leader in advancing renewable energy and emissions reduction. Xi announced ambitious goals, including cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 7 to 10 percent by 2035, marking a shift from China’s previous stance of merely aiming to peak emissions by 2030. Although the pledged emissions reduction pace of about 1 percent annually is slower than the historical rates achieved by some industrialized countries, experts note that China often exceeds its commitments and benefits from policy continuity due to its political system. Xi also committed to expanding China’s installed wind and solar capacity to 3,600 gigawatts by 2035—six times the 2020 level