Where American bombs fell, Chinese wind turbines were erected.

【By Liu Bai, Observers Network】

On a remote ridge in southeastern Laos, a massive white blade emerged from the clouds, seemingly suspended in mid-air. This blade rises to a height equivalent to a 50-story building, towering over nearby wooden house clusters by more than 180 meters, and then rotates back into the clouds.

Then came the second, the third... As the clouds dispersed, a row of giant wind turbines came into view, stretching along the ridge into the distance.

This was not the first time that local villagers had seen powerful new technologies above their isolated homes. During the Vietnam War half a century ago, American aircraft dropped millions of pounds of bombs in this area, and many of the high stilts houses still use American bomb casings as supports.

"Bombs fell like rain," an elderly man said.

Now things have changed.

"Where American bombs fell, Chinese wind turbines were erected," reported the New York Times on September 18, focusing on the Southeast Asia's largest wind power project built by Chinese enterprises — the Mengsong Wind Power Project in Laos.

The report pointed out that China has become the world's largest producer and exporter of renewable energy technology, far surpassing other countries. With a large amount of cheap Chinese green technology exported to developing countries, it has significantly reduced global carbon emissions and made a significant contribution to achieving global emission reduction goals.

The Mengsong Wind Power Project in Laos is the largest wind power project in Southeast Asia, constructed by China Power Construction Group Co., Ltd. (China Power). It is located in Sainyabuli and Attapeu provinces in southern Laos, with a total installed capacity of 600 megawatts.

As the first wind power engineering project in Laos, the project includes 133 wind turbines, five substation stations, and a 500-kilovolt transmission line. The project is expected to reduce carbon emissions by 35 million tons throughout its life cycle, helping Laos achieve its strategic goal of becoming the "Battery of Southeast Asia."

More than 50 years later, unexploded ordnance left behind by the US during the war is still being cleared. However, this year, the US Agency for International Development has canceled funding for such demining projects.

600 MW Mountain Wind Power Project of Mengsong, Laos, General Contracting Project, WeChat Official Account "China Power"

Meanwhile, the arrival of Chinese wind power projects has created new job opportunities for the residents there. The project allocates over one million US dollars annually for community development funds, providing scholarships, teaching villagers to grow coffee, installing solar panels in remote villages, and even converting the main base into a training center.

A woman in her early 20s runs a small general store. She is one of the few locals who has completed college and may work in a larger town after graduation.

But now, she has a simpler wish. After meeting some Chinese engineers and witnessing China Power bringing advanced technology to this underdeveloped highland, she wants to learn Chinese.

"I want to learn Chinese," she said, "if someone can teach me."

The report says that although this project is not prominent in China's clean energy revolution, it reveals how China dominates the global renewable energy trade.

According to the International Energy Agency, China invested 625 billion USD in clean technology in 2024, driving an astonishing transformation: China produces about two-thirds of the world's electric vehicles, more than 60% of wind turbines, and 85% of battery production capacity. The International Energy Agency predicts that China's clean energy technology exports will reach 340 billion USD per year in 10 years, equivalent to the combined oil exports of Saudi Arabia and the UAE today.

At the same time, another global superpower, the United States, is taking the opposite approach, abandoning support for wind energy, solar energy, and electric vehicles. The Trump administration's "Big and Beautiful Act" cut subsidies for these three areas; while China is strengthening its dominance in almost all links of the renewable energy supply chain.

Milo McBride, a clean energy expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said: "There is a dramatic shift in the clean energy sector, which directly targets the core of the U.S.-China great power competition. The United States is increasing its status as the world's largest producer and exporter of oil and gas, while China is expanding its strength as a manufacturer and exporter of future clean energy technologies."

The report said that low-cost Chinese green technology has almost reached every corner of the world: stylish Chinese electric vehicles appear on the streets of Bangkok, São Paulo, and Addis Ababa; Chinese-made solar panels cover the sunny cities of Pakistan and the 4,000-meter plateau of Argentina; wind farms equipped with Chinese wind turbines are distributed along the coast of Bosnia, the plains of Kenya, and of course, the highlands of southeastern Laos.

Lauri Mielveta, chief analyst at the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) in Finland, said that in 2023, China exported clean energy technology to 191 of the 192 UN member states, excluding itself.

These exports are strongly promoting global emission reductions. According to Mielveta's calculation, in 2024 alone, China's clean technology exports could reduce carbon emissions by 1% outside of China. In other words, the rapid expansion of China's clean energy exports will prevent 220 million tons of carbon emissions, equivalent to the annual emissions of 50 million gasoline cars.

The report pointed out that 25 years ago, the pillars of China's export economy were clothing, furniture, and home appliances, known as the "old three." Now, the "new three" are solar, electric vehicles, and lithium batteries. In the future, wind turbines may also be added. China's interest in clean energy initially aimed to hedge against its heavy reliance on oil, but as early as 2010, Chinese leaders and scholars realized that clean energy was an opportunity for economic growth, geopolitical influence, and energy security. A scholar once said that countries that lead in developing new energy technologies often change the global balance of power.

Mielveta stated that in the past four years, developing countries have driven 70% of the growth in China's solar, wind, and electric vehicle exports. Last year, nearly half of China's solar, wind, and electric vehicle exports went to developing countries, a historic first.

"In three years, Chinese products will enter new countries at a speed and scale we have never seen before," McBride said.

Professor Lewis of Georgetown University said: "China has a huge opportunity to play a greater role in the low-carbon energy transition of the Global South, not only through exporting solar, wind, and other technologies, but also by helping these countries build their own green industries and by drawing on China's own green industry policy model."

However, while acknowledging China's clean energy technology, the article also uses the old rhetoric of Western politicians, subtly depicting China's attempt to exert geopolitical influence through green technology, and stoking debt issues.

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on April 2 at a regular press conference. Currently, some countries are unjustly suppressing the development of China's green industry, not only "building walls," but also raising the cost of obtaining renewable energy technology for the international community, especially developing countries, blocking global green and low-carbon development.

Guo Jiakun introduced that in 2024, four out of every ten kilowatt-hours of electricity generated in China came from clean energy. As the world's largest exporter of clean technology, China has created 46% of the jobs in the global renewable energy sector. A report by the International Renewable Energy Agency also shows that over the past decade, the average cost of electricity from wind power projects has decreased by more than 60%, and the cost of photovoltaic power projects has decreased by more than 80%, largely due to China's contributions.

He said that in China's sustainable development cooperation with neighboring countries, "green transition" and "blue contribution" have attracted attention. China has been cooperating on clean energy with Vietnam, Thailand, and signed blue economy cooperation documents with Indonesia, promoting cooperation in relevant fields.

"Building a clean and beautiful world is a common responsibility of all countries," Guo Jiakun said. China will continue to work with all parties, empower development with green energy, and assist cooperation with blue efforts. He also called on all parties to create favorable conditions for international green cooperation and make positive contributions.

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