China’s energy transition and implications for South America: industrial policy tools and the development of renewable energy sectors

Abstract

China has rapidly emerged as a competitive actor in renewable energy, leading in the manufacturing and deployment of solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicles (EVs), and battery technologies. This policy paper explores how China’s domestic transition to clean energy, driven partially by state-led industrial policies, has created globally competitive firms and technologies. As the world’s largest market for EVs and dominant player across critical green energy value chains, the country is a strategic partner for South American countries, which brings both opportunities and challenges: while growing Chinese demand for lithium, copper, and other critical minerals opens trade and investment channels, the global shift to low-carbon technologies raises the stakes for countries in the region to try to increase the value-added in their production, promoting regional innovation, and strategic autonomy. Based on the Chinese experience this report outlines how South American countries can foster clean energy ecosystems, align national policies towards technological development in green energy, and strategically engage with Chinese FDI to secure knowledge transfer and technological spillovers. The report emphasizes policy coordination, geopolitical resilience, and innovation as vital elements to ensure the region does not remain an exporter of raw materials, but an active participant in the global energy transition.