The New Energy Order: China's Renewable Energy Expansion and Structural Power in the Indo-Pacific

This paper examines how the global Renewable Energy (RE) transition is reshaping China’s role and engagement on the world stage, with a particular focus on the Indo-Pacific region. Using Susan Strange’s structural power framework, it explores how China consolidates its influence through dominance in Renewable Energy supply chains, including rare earth elements, solar panels, and wind turbines, while shaping global production systems and promoting low-carbon development models to emerging economies. China’s energy security strategy—reducing fossil fuel dependency, addressing vulnerabilities such as the Malacca Strait, and developing renewable infrastructure—reinforces its geopolitical leverage and regional partnerships. Simultaneously, technological innovation, domestic research and development, and export of renewable expertise enhance China’s global influence, while financial initiatives, such as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), green bonds, and overseas renewable investments, strengthen long-term interdependencies across the Indo-Pacific. The paper also examines the geopolitical consequences of China’s rise in the renewable sector, including shifting technological and energy dependencies, as well as challenges posed by domestic factors, thus highlighting both the opportunities and limitations of China’s growing structural power in the emerging renewable order.