China accounts for nearly half of the world's installed capacity of wind and solar power, and 60% of the world's newly added installed capacity. It has built the world's largest and fastest-growing renewable energy system.
At the 2025 International Energy Transition Forum held in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province on October 24, 2025, Wang Hongzhi, Director of the National Energy Administration, stated that the annual newly added installed capacity of wind power and photovoltaic power generation in China has successively exceeded the milestones of 100 million, 200 million and 300 million kilowatts in the past decade.
This data indicates that China plays a leading role in the global energy transition.
Meanwhile, the "Renewable Energy 2025" report released by the International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts that despite facing supply chain and capital pressures, the global installed capacity of renewable energy will still grow strongly. Between 2025 and 2030, the global installed capacity of renewable energy will increase by 4,600 gigawatts, which is roughly equivalent to the total current installed capacity of China, the European Union and Japan.

01 China as a Leader: The Engine of Global Energy Transition
The Blue Book on Energy Transition Index 2025 was officially released during the 2025 International Energy Transition Forum. It reveals that China ranks first globally in the assessment of energy transition speed, making it the country with the fastest energy transition in the world.
China leads not only in transition speed but also ranks third globally in the overall energy transition index score—and it is the only developing country among the top 10.
China has built the world’s largest and fastest-growing renewable energy system. As of the end of September 2025, China’s installed capacity of new energy storage has exceeded 100 million kilowatts, accounting for over 40% of the world’s total installed capacity.
Wind and solar products manufactured in China have helped reduce global carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 2.65 billion metric tons in the past year alone.
Wang Hongzhi, Director of the National Energy Administration, emphasized at the forum that China has become a leader and a source of innovation in energy science and technology. Over the past decade, China’s new energy technology and equipment have led the world, and a number of major projects in hydropower, nuclear power, and other fields have been completed and put into operation.

02 Global Investment: Clean Energy Becomes the Mainstream
The 2025 edition of the IEA’s World Energy Investment Report outlines a profound transformation in the global energy investment pattern: clean energy has become the absolute mainstay, accounting for two-thirds of total investment.
Global total energy investment in 2025 is expected to rise to a record 3.3 trillion US dollars, an increase of approximately 2% compared with 202
Among this, investment in clean energy technologies such as renewable energy, nuclear energy, wind energy, and electrification is expected to reach an astonishing 2.2 trillion US dollars—nearly twice the investment in fossil fuels.
Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the IEA, emphasized, “Energy security is the key driver behind this year’s surge in investment.”
Over the past five years, investment in clean energy—led by solar PV—has nearly doubled. In 2025, investment in solar energy alone (including large-scale power plants and rooftop PV) will reach 450 billion US dollars, making it the single largest item in global energy investment. This will also drive investment in battery energy storage to soar to over 65 billion US dollars.

03 Global Pattern: The Trend of Diversified Development Is Evident
The global energy transition presents a multipolar development trend, with China having become the world’s largest energy investor.
A decade ago, China’s clean energy investment was only slightly higher than that of the United States; today, China accounts for one-third of global total investment.
In 2024, China’s investment in this field exceeded 625 billion US dollars—nearly double that of a decade ago and equivalent to the combined investment of the EU and the United States.
Europe is actively investing in renewable energy and energy efficiency improvement to reduce its dependence on pipeline natural gas.
The United States has seen growth in clean energy investment, while also being a major investor in natural gas power generation and liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facilities.
Emerging economies such as India and Brazil, as well as Southeast Asia, have performed prominently in PV, wind energy, bioenergy, and supply chain development.
However, global clean energy investment remains unbalanced. Africa, which accounts for 20% of the world’s population and has rapidly growing energy demand, receives only 2% of global clean energy investment.
High financing costs (2–3 times higher than those in developed economies) and debt pressures have led to a one-third decline in clean energy financing in Africa over the past decade.

04 Future Challenges: Opportunities and Risks Coexist
The path of global energy transition is not smooth. Currently, geopolitics continue to affect the stable global supply of energy, regional development imbalances are worsening, and bottlenecks in key technologies urgently need to be broken.
The IEA report emphasizes that to achieve the goal of tripling global renewable energy power generation capacity by 2030 (compared with 2023), the annual global investment scale in renewable energy power must double, and investment in supporting power grids and energy storage must also increase significantly in tandem.
The vigorous development of renewable energy urgently requires stronger power grid support, making grid upgrades imperative.
Global power grid investment in 2025 is expected to increase by 400 billion US dollars. The report recommends that countries formulate long-term strategies, use artificial intelligence (AI) and digital technologies to upgrade power grids, optimize regulatory mechanisms, and improve flexibility and reliability.

At the 2025 International Energy Transition Forum, Wang Hongzhi initiated that countries work together to build an energy supply security

system and promote a safer transition; and jointly break through technological development bottlenecks to advance a more dynamic transition.
He specifically mentioned AI, calling on countries around the world to deepen international cooperation in energy science and technology and support enterprises of all countries to actively participate in research on international cutting-edge technologies such as the integrated development of AI and energy.
The global energy sector is at a historic turning point. According to the IEA report, in the first half of 2025, global renewable energy power generation exceeded that of fossil fuels for the first time.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres commented on social media, “The future of clean energy is no longer a distant promise—it is here.” He called on the international community to “seize this historic opportunity and accelerate the global transition to a better future.”
The competition in energy development has been reordered. With its huge market, manufacturing capacity, and policy implementation capabilities, China has taken a leading position in this global transition. However, global cooperation will be the key to determining the ultimate success or failure of this energy transformation.