[Source/Observer Network, Shao Yun] Politico Europe reported on the 22nd that US President Trump has elevated his China competition strategy to a new level in his second term, "hoping to defeat China in almost all markets," but uniquely in the clean energy sector, the Trump administration has taken a completely different approach - actively "giving up" competition and refocusing policy priorities on traditional American energy advantages such as oil, natural gas, and coal.

However, this stance is causing fundamental divisions within the Republican Party as Congress Republicans negotiate over Trump's push for the so-called 'Big Beautiful Bill Act' (BBBA). The report states that the Trump administration and hardline Republicans advocate canceling the clean energy subsidies of Biden's Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which would jeopardize domestic companies and jobs in the U.S., since many communities where Republicans hold a majority are also beneficiaries of these subsidies.

On May 16, 2025, Washington D.C., an Exxon oil station promoting fuel prices near a Trump presidential banner hung by the Heritage Foundation. Visual China.

Will China win while America loses?

Politico Europe said that in the eyes of Trump administration officials, China has already won the clean energy race, and any further investment by the U.S. in green technology will only help China develop further because China dominates major links in the global battery, electric vehicle, solar, and wind energy supply chains.

This judgment based on "zero-sum" thinking has led Trump in his second term to rely even more heavily on fossil fuels than both the Biden administration and his previous term. According to reports, during Trump's first term, the White House adopted a "buffet-style" broad-spectrum strategy in energy policy, promoting various forms including clean energy simultaneously.

"(Trump) clearly shows no interest in compromise measures in his second term," said Daniel Simmons, who was responsible for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at the Department of Energy during Trump's first term. "This is not the battlefield they care about."

Trump himself has repeatedly expressed his desire to cut government spending by repealing parts of the IRA and criticized Biden's administration's investments in clean energy and climate change as a "green new scam." Shortly after taking office in January, he signed an executive order requiring federal agencies to "immediately suspend" the distribution of funds under the IRA and other bills.

In diplomatic settings, the Trump administration has sent similar signals. Last month, Energy Secretary Wright flew to Eastern Europe, proposing to Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, and other countries to join the "Energy Freedom Team," urging them to embrace oil, natural gas, and nuclear energy, and not to believe in "climate panic," calling it "undermining freedom, prosperity, and national security."

Notably, before joining the Trump administration, Wright was an oil tycoon and one of the main fundraisers for the Republican Party. According to public records from the Federal Election Commission, he donated nearly $229,000 to the "Trump 47 Committee" and $41,300 to the Republican National Committee.

Wright is a staunch supporter of fossil fuels. He acknowledges the link between fossil fuels and climate change but denies its connection to the climate crisis. He also believes that fossil fuels are necessary to help developing countries out of poverty. Wright founded his company in the 1990s using hydraulic fracturing technology to promote shale gas production, and this "shale revolution" helped the United States become the world's largest producer of oil and natural gas.

Harming American Interests

"They don't see climate change as a problem," George David Banks, who was responsible for climate affairs during Trump's first term, described the current attitude of the Trump team this way. He also stated that the Trump administration essentially does not want to create jobs for China.

Politico Europe thinks there is some truth to this statement, but not much. Li Shuo, director of the China Climate Center at the Asia Society of the United States, said that China "started early" in core clean technologies needed in the coming decades of the world's transition to a cleaner energy system, such as solar, batteries, electric vehicles, and wind power, thus gaining a "significant and irreversible lead."

The report gave an example: In just the past few months, two major Chinese new energy giants, BYD and CATL, have announced that they have developed electric vehicle batteries that can travel 400 or even 500 kilometers with just five minutes of charging. By comparison, Tesla's "Supercharger" can add 320 kilometers of range to an electric vehicle in about 15 minutes.

However, for ordinary Americans, canceling subsidies will also affect job opportunities domestically. According to an analysis published by Politico magazine last December, private sector manufacturing projects supported by the IRA and other subsidies are expected to create approximately 160,000 jobs in the U.S. This includes blue-collar positions in many Republican-majority communities in the Sun Belt and Rust Belt.

In addition, according to a research report by researchers at Johns Hopkins University, if subsidies are abolished, the U.S. solar module and battery export market, which is expected to reach $50 billion by 2030, will also disappear. Other countries will fill the $80 billion investment gap left by the closure of U.S. photovoltaic, electric vehicle, and battery gigafactories.

"China will be the biggest winner, but not the only one... Other countries around the world are also winners," said Tim Sahay, one of the authors of the report. "This is essentially the reverse version of the IRA. When the IRA passed, foreigners would say, 'Wow, Americans, taking advantage of their fiscal space, are stealing our investments and jobs.' Now that the IRA is gone, foreigners will say, 'Okay, we get more of our share.'

The report argues that when U.S. clean energy companies go bankrupt, their technological assets may be bought by foreign companies at very low prices.

Green Development Requires Global Cooperation

"I am surprised that this administration is not only advancing its own agenda but is consciously throwing sand into parts of the agenda it disagrees with, deliberately slowing down progress, even though doing so will harm American jobs," Tom Woodroofe, former Australian diplomat to the U.S. and advisor to the Smart Energy Council, remarked.

Clearly, not all Republicans are willing to sit idly by while China, Europe, and other countries automatically win the clean energy race. This internal party division is gradually surfacing in congressional negotiations over Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill." The bill is a legislative tool to greenlight Republican and Trump's policy agendas, requiring only a simple majority to pass, but House Republicans have yet to agree on the terms of the bill.

On April 22, 2025, a photovoltaic installation in Arizona, benefiting from IRA subsidies. Politico Europe.

However, according to an analysis by the American think tank Rhodium Group, the Republican proposal would also impact some clean energy technologies promoted by the Trump administration, such as next-generation nuclear energy, nuclear fusion, and geothermal energy. The analysis points out that canceling subsidies would obscure industry prospects in the early market, reducing investment. Additionally, the Trump administration's significant cuts to budgets and personnel of federal agencies and research departments may also suppress America's scientific and technological innovation capabilities.

More importantly, addressing climate change requires global cooperation rather than efforts by individual countries alone. Politico Europe also noted that apart from the current U.S. administration, no other major country views China's dominance as a reason to put climate action on hold.

Previously, China has repeatedly stated that it always attaches great importance to addressing climate change, actively promoting energy green transformation and industrial structure adjustment. The realization of global energy transition goals also requires joint efforts from all countries, and developed countries should honor their commitments to create favorable conditions for international green cooperation. Protectionism, unilateralism, and politicization will only harm the common interests of the international community.

This article is an exclusive contribution by Observer Network and cannot be reproduced without permission.

Original Source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7507244435885883942/

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