What’s After Coal? Accelerating China’s Overseas Investment in Renewables

This briefing by the World Resources Institute examines China's transition away from financing overseas coal projects following its 2021 pledge. It argues that China possesses a significant comparative advantage in renewable energy due to its dominance in global manufacturing and supply chains, making renewables a more viable and sustainable investment path than natural gas, where China lacks domestic market maturity and technical export capacity.

• China has adhered to its September 21, 2021, pledge to stop building new coal power plants overseas and has ceased providing finance for grid-connected coal-fired power projects. However, there are concerns that some coal pipeline projects may be converted to gas, potentially locking in polluting infrastructure for decades.
• China lacks a comparative advantage in overseas gas power generation compared to OECD nations like Japan and the United States. Between 2001 and 2022, China ranked 13th in international gas power generation investments with $6.8 billion, which is less than one-tenth of Japan's investment. China's overseas gas investment is primarily focused on gas chemicals rather than power generation, totaling $3 billion.
• China holds a strong comparative advantage in renewable energy due to its dominance in global manufacturing, accounting for 72% of global solar manufacturing and 50% of global wind turbines. This scale allows for lower equipment prices and an efficient supply chain, positioning China as a competitive Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contractor and equipment supplier.
• Increasing Chinese investment in renewables faces several hurdles, including uneven regulatory frameworks across countries, geopolitical tensions, and the 2020 dual circulation policy that prioritizes the domestic market. Additionally, projects suffer from a lack of sovereign guarantees and limited insurance capacity from Sinosure, which has used much of its quota for mid- and long-term insurance.

APA

World Resources Institute (2023). What’s After Coal? Accelerating China’s Overseas Investment in Renewables. https://www.wri.org/insights/whats-after-coal-accelerating-chinas-overseas-investment-renewables

Chicago

World Resources Institute. What’s After Coal? Accelerating China’s Overseas Investment in Renewables. 2023. https://www.wri.org/insights/whats-after-coal-accelerating-chinas-overseas-investment-renewables.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=What’s After Coal? Accelerating China’s Overseas Investment in Renewables |date=31 January 2023 |url=https://www.wri.org/insights/whats-after-coal-accelerating-chinas-overseas-investment-renewables |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitute2023whats, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{What’s After Coal? Accelerating China’s Overseas Investment in Renewables}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2023}, month = jan, url = {https://www.wri.org/insights/whats-after-coal-accelerating-chinas-overseas-investment-renewables}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }