Elizabeth Thurbon Explains How China Sees Energy Transition as National Security

According to the World Economic Forum, China’s energy transition is on June 24, 2025, not only an environmental transition for China but it is being treated by the Chinese government, as a national security multiplier. Elizabeth Thurbon of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council points out the profound change in strategy where green energy is no longer viewed as a peripheral climate dilemma but a direct national advantage. 

This change is far more than mere symbolism. China is embedding clean energy into the actual fabric of its domestic governance. Economic aims, environmental responsibility and geopolitical development are no longer at cross purposes but they are intertwined. Beijing is repositioning the energy transition by characterizing it as an aspect of national security. In doing so, China is not only redefining the climate policy framework but also conveying that the global order is rapidly changing.

China’s Energy Transition Is a Security Strategy, Not Just Climate Policy

Elizabeth Thurbon puts forward, that China’s strategy is “Green Energy Statecraft: Energy Transition for Economic Security,” where as a state, they treat the energy transition as one part of larger plans for the economy, the environment and international influence. Not isolated wind farms or solar PV projects; it is about altering the state’s capacity to lead in the 21st century.

China aims to expand its domestic production of renewable and critical mineral technologies and reduce its need to rely on imported fossil fuels. That enhanced internal capacity will fortify energy security and provide less exposure to fluctuations of international energy supply. When Beijing builds battery facilities or invests in electric vehicle (EVs) adoption, they are not just pursuing green innovation; they are putting in place a more resilient and self-reliant national infrastructure.

In parallel to this work domestically, China is out employing economic means to strengthen its strategic position. As a new global supplier of clean technologies, whether solar panels or rare earth metals, contributions to technology or investment becomes a form of geo-political capital. That means that every solar panel, every litre of product supporting low emissions mobility forms another layer of influence in a country’s growing reach across global energy ecosystems.

A State-Driven Model: Coordination, Incentives, and Social Stability

China’s strategy for developing clean energy differs fundamentally from approaches in the West, notably through greater coordination. Central authorities, including the Ministry of Finance and National Development and Reform Commission, plan and fund massive investments in clean infrastructure. China’s state planners didn’t wait for private capital to act, but rather coordinated the market to satisfy long-term goals of security and independence.

While private firms are incentivized, they are in many respects being managed. Guo et al. rely on loans, grants, and tax breaks to support green innovation, but ultimately the success of these initiatives is related to performance outcomes. The goal is to bring energy investments into alignment with national endowments and priorities, rather than narrowing investment horizons to short-term profits.

Another uniqueness about China’s model worth mentioning is its attention to social fabric. China is actively trying to manage the human cost of moving away from fossil fuels by retraining coal workers, redeveloping fossil fuel-dependent regions, and fostering the integration of local governance into the transition process. By doing these things, China not only builds social legitimacy for the clean energy transition, but also makes it politically sustainable. The energy transition becomes possible not only technologically, but in locales across China politically.

Energy Policy as Power Projection on the Global Stage

China is remaking its own energy economy and exporting that remake abroad. Through the Green Belt and Road initiative, Chinese-invested businesses are deploying renewable infrastructure internationally. The country’s investments open new markets for its technologies and develop long-term strategic relationships. In addition to controlling the global value chain of rare earths and minerals required for battery applications, China enjoys added leverage. These resources and materials are not only inputs of clean energy, they are the oxygen of modern military, industrial, and consumer technologies.

As nations race to electrify themselves, the economies that harvest, produce, and refine these minerals will ultimately wallop the non-consumer nations. Standard-setting is another subtle but significant tool. As China exports its green tech, it also exports its regulatory frameworks as reported by World Economic Forum. This shapes global norms in energy technology and makes international partners more dependent on Chinese models, a powerful form of soft influence. All of these moves are reinforcing China’s position as a global leader not only in climate policy, but in geopolitical influence. As Elizabeth Thurbon notes, this isn’t a passive transition, it’s a conscious, calculated reshaping of the global power structure.

Final Thoughts: The Future of National Security Is Green

In conceptualizing the energy transition as a national security multiplier, China is signaling to the world that the concepts of environmental sustainability and geopolitics are mutually interdependent. This merger sets the China capable of recovering from economic shocks, dominating clean tech innovation, and gripping global importance without having to rely on fossil fuel imports.

Other nations should take note. A successful clean energy strategy now requires not just innovation or carbon reduction, but full-spectrum thinking, policy, infrastructure, defense, trade, and people all working in sync. The countries that recognize this interconnectedness early will be better positioned to lead in a more volatile, climate-driven century.