Western nations have long been technology and entrepreneurial leaders, but in the race to transform their economies to cleaner and more sustainable energy systems, they’ve just been passed by a stronger competitor with a better plan. What awaits us at the finish line may be a world where western hegemony is relegated to the history books.
China will win the race for economic dominance in the 21st century. The sleeping giant is awake and has no intention of going back to bed. The country’s economic fortunes have been rising for decades, and they are now using their wealth and industrial capacity to rapidly build towards a future powered by clean energy.
Not only is China leading the world in deployment of wind, solar, energy storage and grid modernization, the country is also far ahead in electrifying key sectors of its economy. While other nations are building significant amounts of renewable energy, China leads in the development of electrification technology as well as renewables.
An example of China’s success in electrification is the new charging park for transport trucks in the province of Sichuan. Built by electronics giant Huawei, the charging park has eighteen bays for rapidly filling heavy-duty trucks, plus another 180 fast chargers for charging during 15- to 20-minute rest stops. The bays are covered by 1 megawatt (MW) of solar panels generating clean power for charging.
While the west has similar projects, like California’s Greenlane network of charging stations or European heavy-transport charging networks from companies such as Milence and German-owned E.ON and MAN, the Huawei initiative is part of a nationally-scaled industrial strategy.
The charging park is one site in what will be a nationwide network, backed by state-directed investment and a clear mandate to dominate the entire supply chain from mining critical minerals to manufacturing batteries, trucks and rapid charging stations.
China has also deployed electric transit systems in most of its major cities and, as Forbes bluntly states, “China’s rise in the EV market is staggering.” China’s vehicle and battery technology is leading the world in market share, innovation, quality and cost.
Every political attack, every legal battle over charging networks and every piece of anti-EV rhetoric serves to widen the innovation gap and capitulate the future to China, writes Rob Miller
This coordinated effort, supported by a massive domestic market, creates a technology ecosystem that western markets, plagued by fragmentation and ideological opposition, can’t match. As a result, Chinese manufacturers are achieving economies of scale at an astonishing rate while polarized western nations continue to debate the necessity of electrification.
Our industries will continue to compete on the global stage with outdated fossil-fuel technology that is more expensive to buy, operate and maintain. In addition to undercutting its competitors on cost, China is solving engineering and logistics problems while building the products and practical knowledge that will be its most valuable exports.
Global export markets for fossil fuels, gas-powered vehicles and petroleum infrastructure will be replaced by China’s clean energy systems, batteries, electric vehicles and charging solutions because they’re much less expensive and provide oil-importing nations with energy security.
That competitive disadvantage may result in more than a loss of market share. Just as the western nations rely on OPEC for oil, they risk becoming reliant on China for the clean technology systems of the future.
The fossil fuel industry’s role in this self-sabotage cannot be overstated. By funding disinformation campaigns and lobbying for restrictive policies against renewables and electrification, they are reaping a few more years of profit while actively clearing the field for Chinese dominance. The increasingly desperate defense of a doomed industry directly undermines long-term national security and economic competitiveness. Every political attack, every legal battle over charging networks and every piece of anti-EV rhetoric serves to widen the innovation gap and capitulate the future to China.
There is a modern tragedy being written as the once dominant western nations stumble over ideological tribalism favourable to the fossil fuel industry. China has made its move and is sprinting towards the finish line of a global economy powered by clean, secure, domestic electricity. The West is arguing over the race’s very existence.
Without a radical shift towards cohesive and enduring national-level strategies and elimination of ideological infighting fueled by legacy industries, this structural disadvantage will become a permanent condition. We won’t just be losers in the technology race; we will be destined to watch the world switch to better technologies, developed and exported by our geopolitical and economic rivals.
This is the end game of China’s electrification gambit. They aren’t developing these energy and technology solutions to save the world. They’re doing it to dominate the world.
That scenario is particularly concerning given President Xi Jinping’s massive display of military might on a day celebrating victory over Japan. Xi, flanked by Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong-un, led a group of more than 20 world leaders in an unprecedented display of unity between imperialists, dictators and rogue nations.
At the same time, US President Donald Trump is destabilizing western military alliances that have been mutually supportive since the Second World War, sabotaging the green new deal, and creating the conditions for a devastating economic collapse.
The stars couldn’t be more aligned for China’s ascension to power, an ominous situation given their questionable choice of deeply flawed allies.
Rob Miller is a retired systems engineer, formerly with General Dynamics Canada, who now volunteers with the Calgary Climate Hub and writes on behalf of Eco-Elders for Climate Action, but any opinions expressed in his work are his own.