Chinese climate statecraft: governing low-carbon transitions through state campaigns, local adaptation and market-making

As the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases, China has announced its push toward carbon neutrality. However, a more strategic design for low-carbon transition contrasts with dispersed policy implementation in cities. This article attributes the puzzle to an insufficient understanding of statecraft, which translates decarbonisation visions into urban practices. Engaging with the decentralisation–centralisation debate in authoritarian environmentalism and the contextualised understanding of neoliberal environmentalism in China, we posit that climate statecraft—through state institutions and campaigns, multi-scalar actions and market-making—represents a direct response to the persisting tensions between central mandates and fragmented implementation. Drawing on city-level cases, we demonstrate how Chinese statecraft is shaping China’s urban low-carbon transition.