The Geoeconomics of Renewable Energy: China’s Strategic Positioning and Impact on the EU Market

A key component of sustainable transitions is the shift to renewable energy (RE) sources. Much scholarly work has focused on technical challenges of RE production or on social, political, and economic barriers to RE adoption. However, less research has focused on the geopolitical dynamics that could affect also inhibit RE transitions. This is especially true given China’s growing leverage over the production and trade of materials critical to RE production, distribution, and storage. Understanding the mechanisms, objectives, and implications of China’s dominance in the RE market requires a thorough overview. To analyse China’s strategic positioning in the global RE market, we apply a geoeconomics framework, highlighting the interplay between economic power, territorial strategies, and institutional mechanisms. China resembles the function of geopolitical chokepoints by imposing control over important components of the RE market and addressing trade and investment bottlenecks through institutional mechanisms. The study draws attention to the geoeconomic paradox that cooperation and competition coexist and promote market integration despite interdependencies. Being the second-largest producer of RE, the European Union both benefits from and faces difficulties as a result of China’s market power. We show how China’s geoeconomic strategies increase its influence globally and foster intricate interdependencies, which both facilitate market growth and exacerbate tensions with other strong powers.