Trump’s climate cuts fuel China’s rise in green energy across Southeast Asia
As U.S. climate funding dries up, even nations wary of China’s political aims, like the Philippines, are turning to Beijing’s cheaper renewable energy technologies to meet growing power demands.
Christian Shepherd reports for The Washington Post.
In short:
- The Philippines, despite security tensions with Beijing, increasingly depends on low-cost Chinese wind turbines and solar panels to grow its renewable energy sector.
- Former President Trump’s rollback of U.S. climate finance and renewable energy aid has left developing countries few alternatives to Chinese green tech.
- China’s dominance in producing affordable clean energy equipment and its Belt and Road Initiative investments have strengthened its influence in Southeast Asia and beyond.
Key quote:
“We have no choice but to buy our solar panels from China. They’re the cheapest in the world.”
— Win Gatchalian, former chair of the Philippine Senate Energy Committee
Why this matters:
China’s green tech surge, coupled with its Belt and Road Initiative, lets it deepen economic ties and strategic leverage across Asia, Africa and Latin America. Meanwhile, the U.S. retreat from international climate finance and development aid has diminished its soft power, leaving allies like the Philippines in a bind: pursue essential renewable projects with Chinese firms or face energy shortfalls. But heavy reliance on Chinese infrastructure raises concerns over national security and political autonomy, a dilemma facing many in the Global South. As the U.S. and its partners debate trade tariffs and security postures, China is quietly embedding itself as the indispensable green power broker of the developing world, with long-term environmental and diplomatic implications.
Read more: China’s clean energy dominance reshapes global markets
