Transition to World’s First Major Electro-State
Energy is an important foundation and driver of human progress. Building an “electro-state” with clean energy as the mainstay is not only an important achievement of Chinese modernization, but also a historic exploration bearing on humanity’s sustainable development.
Since the Industrial Revolution, the large-scale development and use of fossil fuels have powerfully advanced human civilization. However, the carbon dioxide emissions generated by massive fossil-fuel consumption have significantly increased the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, intensified global climate change, and created severe challenges for the security of global ecosystems.
In the face of the real threats posed by climate change, reducing dependence on fossil fuels and accelerating their replacement with clean energy have become urgent tasks that the international community must address together.
China is a committed actor in the energy transition. Over the past half century and more, China has completed the largest and fastest industrialization process in human history, greatly raising the living standards of the Chinese people. While accelerating industrialization, China has also placed ecological and environmental protection in an important position, continuously advanced the building of an ecological civilization, and laid a solid policy and practical foundation for shifting toward a development model led by clean energy.
Today, a growing range of production and everyday life scenarios is powered by electricity, and China is becoming an “electro-state” with clean energy as the mainstay. The significance of this green transition is comparable to the historic transformation in which fossil fuels powered the rise of the Industrial Revolution.
From the supply side, China’s installed renewable-energy capacity continues to reach new milestones, and its clean-power supply capacity continues to strengthen. By the end of 2025, China’s total installed renewable-energy capacity had reached 2.34 billion kilowatts, or 2,340 gigawatts, accounting for about 60 percent of the country’s total installed power-generation capacity. Of every 10 kilowatt-hours of electricity consumed across society, nearly four were green electricity; all incremental growth in total electricity consumption was met by additional renewable-power generation.
A report released by the Finland-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air shows that, supported by the continued expansion of wind power and photovoltaics, China’s installed renewable-energy capacity is expected to reach 3,500 gigawatts by 2030 and 5,000 gigawatts by 2035. By then, non-fossil energy is expected to account for around 65 percent of electricity generation, while carbon emissions from the power sector are expected to fall by about 30 percent.
From the consumption side, China has made remarkable progress in the electrification of transport. In 2025, China’s production and sales of new-energy vehicles both exceeded 16 million units, ranking first in the world for the 11th consecutive year, while their share of total domestic vehicle sales in China surpassed 50 percent. Electrification in freight transport is also accelerating, with sales of new-energy heavy-duty trucks growing rapidly. The electrification of the transport sector is changing public mobility and logistics, steadily reducing the space for fossil-fuel use, and providing strong support for the green and low-carbon transformation of the economy and society.
China’s green energy transition is not only profoundly changing its own energy structure; it is also providing green momentum for the world’s energy transition and has become an important driving force in global clean-energy development.
Chinese wind-power equipment, photovoltaic products, new-energy vehicles, and other products are exported to more than 200 countries and regions. China supplies 70 percent of the world’s wind-power equipment and 80 percent of its photovoltaic modules, helping drive down the global costs of wind and photovoltaic power generation by more than 60 percent and 80 percent respectively.
Drawing on continuous technological innovation, a complete industrial system, and large-scale manufacturing capacity, China provides high-quality clean-energy products and services to the world, enabling countries, especially developing countries, to gain access to clean, reliable, and affordable energy and creating favorable conditions for all countries to jointly address the challenge of climate change.
Building an “electro-state” with clean energy as the mainstay is not only an important achievement of Chinese modernization, but also a historic exploration bearing on humanity’s sustainable development. With decades of strategic commitment to green development, continuously evolving innovation capacity, and sustained determination to carry out transformation, China’s energy transition will become increasingly solid. It will not only inject lasting green momentum into China’s own modernization, but also contribute more practical experience to global climate governance and common development.
** John Queripel is an Australian historian, writer and social commentator based in Newcastle, Australia, and has travelled to China five times over the past decade.
Source:
John Queripel on Substack, July 10, 2026. https://johnqueripel.substack.com/p/china-transitioning-to-an-electro
Xinhua, 16 July 2026. https://english.news.cn/20260716/3deae7a706bf478e84a48e34fa6872fc/c.html
