At the start of the twenty-first century, China's leaders had two pivotal realizations. Firstly, China could never lead in a fossil fuel-dominant world. China's development model based on manufacturing was energy-intensive but deepening the country's dependence on fossil fuels which caused extensive human and environmental harm. The second realization provided a possible solution. Deploying low-carbon energy technologies could not only reduce import dependence and pollution but also generate new sources of wealth and innovation, while buttressing Chinese Communist Party rule.
To make this transformation possible, the Chinese state devised long-term plans and put forth generous subsidies for its 'new energy' sectors. But the state could not do this alone. It needed to yield some state control and embrace market competition, so it turned to companies—private, state-owned, and foreign—to bring about this transformation. While China's traditional fossil fuel giants in coal, oil, and power utilities remained powerful but were slow to adapt, a range of agile private firms in solar, wind, electric vehicles, and battery-making industries honed their products through relentless innovation and fierce competition to emerge as global leaders. The race to develop, manufacture, and install low-carbon energy technologies is the latest arena of geopolitical rivalry. No country is more relevant to transitioning the world's fossil fuel-based energy system and reducing the greenhouse gases that exacerbate climate change than China.
Scott McKnight examines how China came to occupy this central position and offers important lessons for other countries attempting to gain an advantage in these fast-changing industries. China's early lead is substantial but not irreversible, shaping global trade, climate outcomes, and the future balance of economic power. Clean Giantis a book about energy, innovation, and choice. It is about how China has fundamentally changed its energy system and large parts of its industrial base and seized greater shares of fast-growing and evolving global supply chains while transforming them in the process.
