From Hunter Willis

China has always had an interesting relationship with a later development in a modern era. China has traditionally started from behind in terms of industrialization, yet has become a powerhouse in terms of exporting green development to countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative. For example, China now leads the world in terms of having the most wind turbine manufactures in the top 10 wind manufacturers according to reve. This is monumental in terms of green development seeing as how much China engages in foreign investment, specifically with infrastructure development. New development in this sector of renewable energies comes at a moment in time where it is not only desired but also needed to help combat climate change.

Part of this switch to renewables on China’s part can be seen through public outcry throughout the world where countries are wanting more environmentally friendly electricity generating means². This push from other countries and various civil-society groups is helping push China towards the path of renewable energy infrastructure rather than its traditional and cheaper methods of coal-burning power plants. Xi Jinping has pledged to stop the continuous building of these coal power plants in the future³. This lets us see that countries that are part of the BRI are in fact able to influence the project as a whole and are not simply puppets to the CCP regime. If these BRI participating countries were simply going along with Xi Jinping’s vision then of course it would make economic sense to choose the less expensive method of electricity generation which in this case would be coal-burning power plants, however, we have witnessed a shift.

This shift can be best exemplified with the country of Argentina where there are numerous renewable energy projects that have been completed, are ongoing, or are planned for the future⁴. Argentina has been building up its capacity for electrical generation through various projects with varying Chinese companies and can be seen as a pinnacle of success for BRI green development. This continual development will soon be able to be seen in other countries as they are trying to reach their own clean energy targets in accordance with various resolutions, treaties, or global goals. This new wave of BRI financning and development tells us that the Belt and Road is not going away anytime soon but rather that it is evolving with modern times and concerns to help shape itself to be the largest development initiatives in the world and continue to do so.