In terms of geopolitical optics, this week was nothing short of a banquet. It served up at least two sets of images that seem to crystallize our historical moment and that will live on in the Wikipedia of history as shorthand for where the world was in 2025.
One is the waves of uncannily synchronized soldiers and a bewildering array of high-tech weaponry gliding down Beijing’s Chang’an Avenue. The ...
Category: Energy
China Leads Thailand EV Export Push as Rules Ease
Chinese brands now dominate the Thailand EV market. New industry data show battery electrics at 18 percent of domestic sales through July, a sign that Thai buyers are embracing EVs even as the broader car market stays flat because credit remains tight.
The Evolving Role of China in Argentina’s Energy Transition
By Javier Lewkowicz Over the past decade, Chinese companies have played a fundamental role in the expansion of Argentina’s clean energy infrastructure, both through financing and direct participation in large projects. However, recent geopolitical and economic ...
What a Ukraine Deal Would Mean for China’s Energy Security
In August, President Trump hosted a marathon of meetings aimed at delivering on a Ukraine-Russia peace deal. Previously, the Trump Administration hinted at reducing or lifting sanctions on Moscow as part of a final deal. A Ukraine peace deal that rolls back sanctions on Russia may undercut ...
How China is Transforming Africa’s Power Sector
African imports of Chinese solar panels over the last year jumped by 60% to over 15 MW, a new record. The clean energy research body Ember published a report yesterday detailing Chinese solar exports to the continent. It uses Chinese customs data to show a marked year-on-year increase ...
Inside the Fine Print: Understanding Finance Contracts in Chinese-supported Power Projects
Every power plant begins long before a single shovel hits the ground. Before turbines are ordered, before concrete is poured, and well before the lights ever flicker on, a dense legal and financial architecture must first be assembled. For state-backed Chinese infrastructure projects in Africa, that ...
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
How Beijing is Deepening Stakes in Kazakhstan’s Energy Value Chain
China’s growing presence in Kazakhstan’s energy sector marks a strategic evolution that extends far beyond traditional resource extraction. While Beijing has long focused on upstream oil and gas operations to secure energy supplies, recent agreements—particularly those emerging from the Second China–Central Asia Summit—point to a more comprehensive ...
China’s Solar Expansion in Indonesia Still Relies on Coal
In West Java, a province just east of Jakarta, Indonesia, a sprawling industrial park is rising. Backed by Chinese cement giant Hongshi Holding Group, the $5 billion complex promises to produce the solar panels and batteries that the world desperately needs to combat climate change.
Bundles, Banks, and Builders: Inside China’s Finance Models for Power Projects in Africa
Building large-scale infrastructure requires more than engineering expertise. Just as critical is how the project is financed, how capital is raised, structured, and repaid. In Chinese-supported power projects across Sub-Saharan Africa, finance is often the entry point: the mechanism through which projects are proposed, evaluated, and ...
Amid Fuel Shortages, Cuba Looks to China for Energy Solutions
Cuba is in the middle of a profound energy crisis — and China sees an opening. As Havana struggles with crumbling infrastructure, dwindling oil imports, and a decades-long economic downturn, Beijing is stepping in to fill the void left by its traditional allies, Russia and Venezuela. The ...
Plugging into African Agency
After several years of declining funding, the African end of the Belt and Road Initiative seems to be roaring back. The newest Griffith University/Green Development Finance Center data on the Belt and Road Initiative shows that engagement with Africa jumped by 395%, while a few big ...
China’s Vital, Yet Poorly Understood Role in Africa’s Energy Sector
After a two-to-three-year hiatus following the pandemic, Chinese money is once again flowing into the African energy sector. Billions of dollars in new investment and construction contracts for power facilities were registered in the first half of the year, particularly in ...
Motives That Matter: The Economic and Strategic Logic Behind China’s Power Sector Engagement in Africa
Why is China building power plants across Sub-Saharan Africa? What exactly motivates its involvement in the sector? What does it hope to gain, and what does this mean for countries on the receiving end of its infrastructure support? Is this simply a gesture of South-South solidarity, ...