Posted on September 30, 2025 by Jeremy Harrell
This op-ed was originally published by The Washington Times on September 29, 2025. Click here to read the entire piece.
In a world of growing demand, having energy is power. The United States faces a dual threat — meeting domestic demand and competing for global market share. China has been quietly reshaping the global energy landscape, exponentially building more on their soil, and outspending the U.S. nearly ten-to-one in overseas energy finance.
China added 475 gigawatts of new electricity generation in 2024. Meanwhile, the U.S. added just one-tenth of that. China built 74 gigawatts of new energy storage. The U.S. built 10. China built 54 gigawatts of new fossil fuel generation, primarily unmitigated coal. The U.S. built just two gigawatts of lower-emission gas.
By every metric, China is building more energy than we are. And that energy is fueling growth across their economy.
And make no mistake, as China further develops its own domestic capacity, it will sell even more of its products globally, furthering its global influence.
A first-of-its-kind analysis by ClearPath of U.S. and Chinese energy investments reveals staggering numbers: since 2015, China has poured $446 billion into global public energy projects compared to just $45 billion from the U.S. In Brazil, the Western Hemisphere’s second-largest economy, China has spent more than $60 billion, dwarfing America’s $472 million.
Click here to read the full article
