【By Observer News, Ruan Jiaqi】

On August 13 local time, Jo Lauder, a climate affairs reporter from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), wrote an in-depth article exploring why China, a superpower, has become the world's first electrified country.

Although this long article still cannot escape the Western media's usual subtle and arrogant perspective, Jo has to admit that China indeed dominates the global clean energy technology industry, accelerating the end of the fossil fuel era and ushering the world into an "electrified nation" era.

The article opens with her exclamation that in just one month, China's solar power generation capacity added in April this year exceeded the total installed capacity of Australia since 2001.

Data from the China National Energy Administration shows that in April, the country's new photovoltaic (PV) installation reached 45.2 GW, an increase of 214.7% year-on-year and 123.4% month-on-month. According to the latest data from the Australian PV Institute (APVI), as of March this year, the cumulative installed capacity of PV in Australia over nearly 25 years barely exceeded 40 GW, accounting for nearly 20% of the national electricity generation, which is already much higher than the global average.

This comparison is enough to "illustrate the astonishing speed at which Chinese society has accepted renewable energy technologies at all levels."

This also made Jo recall a joke by Jorrit Gosens, a climate researcher at the Australian National University: "If you go to Beijing today, you can stand at a busy crossroads and find that the noisiest thing there might be a creaking bicycle."

ABC report screenshot of China's annual new clean energy capacity

Looking back at the path of China's transition to renewable energy strategy, Jo wrote that in the late 20th century, as China became the "world factory," it developed towards modernization during industrialization, but was also deeply caught in the vortex of environmental destruction and air pollution.

Then, "this country began to invest in clean technology on a scale and speed that many so-called 'democratic' countries could hardly imagine."

Taking the ambitious ten-year plan "Made in China 2025" as an example, while China's manufacturing industry sought to upgrade and transform, it emphasized the "green manufacturing project," and "energy-efficient and new energy vehicles" were among the ten key areas.

Yang Muyi, chief analyst for China at the energy think tank Ember, told Jo that China started investing in various components of renewable energy, especially wind, solar, electric vehicles, and batteries used for transportation and storage.

He further said that in the process of becoming an industrial power, China realized that by establishing production centers covering the entire product supply chain in the same region, it could maximize output. This approach was also applied to the renewable energy sector, such as building battery factories near car factories.

Yang Muyi mentioned that the Chinese government provided substantial support to the green industry, such as subsidies. He also emphasized, "The logic behind the Chinese policy support has always been clear — this support is not indefinite. It is not just simple subsidies, but scientific planning, continuous investment, and targeted support."

"This ten-year plan is an interesting policy. They have now fully achieved their goals and become the leading clean technology manufacturer in the world. They have made themselves indispensable in the new global economy," said Wang Han, the China cooperation director at the think tank "Climate Energy Finance."

Today, after a decade, this clean energy transition is shocking. Jo pointed out that currently, China has half of the global photovoltaic solar capacity, half of the wind power equipment, and half of the electric vehicles, with significantly reduced emissions.

The article cited the latest analysis from the UK-based climate science and energy policy research organization "Carbon Brief," which stated that in the first quarter of 2025, China's emissions decreased by 1.6%. China accounts for 30% of global emissions, "which is a key milestone for climate action."

Thanks to its unparalleled economies of scale, this rapid development has also lowered the global electrification costs, making China the world leader in clean technology. Data from "Carbon Brief" also showed that in 2024 alone, China's clean energy exports reduced global emissions outside China by 1%, and will continue to play a role for the next 30 years.

"China has successfully helped the world lower the threshold for the transition, making it easier for other countries to join," Yang Muyi said. "The transition must be affordable; otherwise, many developing countries would face great difficulties."

China's clean energy technology exports quickly offset manufacturing emissions

This contrasts sharply with another superpower, the United States under Trump.

Jo bluntly stated that the Trump administration is ignoring the global issue of climate change, taking historical steps backward, and returning to the old path of "drill, drill, drill."

In Yang Muyi's view, the different choices in energy paths between the two countries stem from deeper strategic considerations, "This is not just about fulfilling environmental obligations or international commitments, nor can it be entirely explained by economic interests such as employment and investment... China believes that the traditional fossil fuel growth model is unsustainable and increasingly unable to support long-term prosperity."

"Energy security is crucial as the basis for economic operations," he said.

Jorrit Gosens from the Australian National University also mentioned the issue of energy security. He explained that the first oil crisis in the 1970s prompted countries to seriously consider energy security issues. People realized a harsh reality — whoever controls the energy supply can dictate the international market.

"This is especially true for China. Because it is very scarce in natural gas and oil." Electrification is changing this, as China is gradually reducing its dependence on traditional energy sources like oil through the development of renewable energy.

China's rapid electrification also provides an example for other countries around the world. Gosens said that in the 20th century, countries rich in fossil fuel resources dominated, and many wars were fought over these resources. If electrification progresses smoothly, this situation will change, because most countries will produce their own electricity.

"Even if your natural resource conditions are poor, you can get a lot of electricity from solar panels. This is really changing geopolitics," Gosens said. "Renewable energy is the safest form of energy... You can avoid price fluctuations and supply risks at the same time."

The acceleration of electrification worldwide also brings insights to Australia, a major global exporter of coal and natural gas.

"Other countries around the world will decide how much coal, natural gas, and iron ore they will buy from us. I think the biggest risk is that we are not prepared, and these changes will happen faster than we expect," Gosens added.

Wang Han from "Climate Energy Finance" further pointed out that in such a complex field as energy transition, the shortcomings of Australia and other Western countries often lie in "lack of sufficient understanding and recognition of China's measures."

Wang Han admitted that China's successful transformation gives her more confidence in the prospects of the climate crisis.

"This is the world's largest emitter and the country with the largest population. In just ten years, they have achieved this, which is an achievement that no other country has ever achieved," she said. "Therefore, this is very encouraging. Seeing this firsthand makes me hopeful about other countries, including Australia... There are lessons to be learned here."

Yang Muyi added that today, the whole world is trying to move away from the entire modern industrial economy built around fossil fuels. "This means we are rebuilding the economy around emerging clean energy technologies, and China has already established the direction toward a clean energy future."

"Can you imagine China one day saying, 'We want to return to the era of gasoline-powered cars instead of developing electric vehicles'? This will never happen, and it's impossible... This momentum is becoming stronger and stronger."

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