To strenghten their joint leadership in global decarbonization, the EU and China should counter growing fragmentation by aligning clean tech supply chains, harmonizing standards, and advancing triangular cooperation with the Global South.
This article is part of a series on “EU-China relations: Bound by Clean Tech or Divided by it?”. The articles reflect the opinions of their respective authors and should be read in the context of this series.
The Joint EU-China Press Statement, published on 24 July 2025 reaffirms the commitment to deepening consensus on a wide range of climate governance and green development issues. These include the Paris Agreement and the 2035 NDCs, the acceleration of renewable energy and green technology diffusion, and the management and control of methane emissions. China and the EU stand at the forefront of the global green transition, jointly shaping the future of clean technology and climate governance.
A shared priority of China-EU Green and Clean Development
In an era of profound global transformation, the world faces the dilemma paradox between surging energy demand and the urgent imperative to address climate change. The transition to a green economy has become not merely an environmental necessity, but a decisive factor shaping future of global economic governance. As two of the largest economic entities and pivotal actors in global climate diplomacy, China and the EU occupy central positions in advancing clean energy innovation and spearheading climate action.
Their cooperation bears directly on the implementation of the Paris Agreement, the resilience of global green supply chains, and the trajectory of international environmental governance. The China-EU Green Partnership was recognized as a shared priority and a critical pillar that helped to safeguard the Paris Agreement following the United States’ withdrawal in 2017. Today, this partnership remains a driving force in accelerating the green transition worldwide.
Climate cooperation is one of the most stable pillars of China-EU relations.
Over the past decade, a web of high-level dialogues, joint investment frameworks, and cross-border industrial collaborations have elevated climate cooperation into one of the most stable pillars of China-EU relations. The two sides have built deeply intertwined clean technology supply chains, in which Chinese companies contribute large-scale manufacturing capacities and cost efficiencies, while European firms provide advanced control systems, certification frameworks, and high-value components.
However, this cooperation now unfolds amid intensifying geopolitical and economic cooperation and competition. The rise of green geoeconomic competition, driven by divergent policy objectives and security considerations, has increasingly framed clean technology not only as an economic and environmental domain but also as a matter of strategic autonomy and technological sovereignty.
Against this backdrop, a central question emerges: will clean technology serve as a bridge that binds China and the EU together through cooperative environmental diplomacy, or as a fault line that deepens divisions in their relationship?
Rising Tensions: Governance Fragmentation and Geopolitical Competition
Despite the remarkable progress achieved through climate cooperation, structural frictions are becoming increasingly visible as clean technology moves to the heart of both geopolitical rivalry and economic strategy.
The politicization of clean technology supply chains has intensified as Western countries engage in institutionalized rivalry for technological leadership, control of critical minerals, and the authority to set global standards. Europe’s decoupling from Russian fossil fuels amplified the urgency of the deployment of renewables. The ensuing transition also exposed Europe’s heavy dependence on Chinese photovoltaic modules, wind turbine components, and battery systems. In the EU, political debates on the dependence on Green Tech are increasingly framed as a strategic vulnerability, paralleling earlier concerns over energy security in general. In line with its de-risking agenda, the EU has reinforced supply chain defense mechanisms, expanded subsidies for domestic manufacturing, and tightened restrictions on the market access of Chinese products. The forthcoming Clean Industrial Deal, for instance, includes provisions for targeted green subsidies and preferential procurement - raising questions about fair competition, reciprocity, and market openness.
Implementation of green standards has deepened policy frictions between China and the EU.
Also, the implementation of green standards has deepened policy frictions between China and the EU, while heightening the risk of institutional fragmentation in global climate governance. Key EU regulations such as the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and the new Battery Regulation are perceived by China not merely as environmental initiatives but as unilateral trade instruments that impose compliance burdens. The resulting increase in costs for China’s exporting industries have further strained bilateral relations.
What was once primarily a domain of shared environmental responsibility has evolved into a contested arena where climate goals, industrial policies, and security concerns converge. These tensions reflect not only differences in policy instruments but also competing visions for global climate governance – posing a risk of fragmenting of multilateral frameworks and eroding the mutual trust that has underpinned the China-EU green partnership.
Future Pathways: From Cooperative Leadership to Global Climate Governance
As the global climate regime approaches a decisive juncture, the future of China-EU relations will hinge on whether clean technology becomes a foundation for cooperative leadership or a catalyst for systemic fragmentation.
Both sides possess the material capabilities and institutional resources to shape the next phase of climate governance. What remains uncertain is their ability to reconcile divergent interests and forge a shared vision – one that transcends bilateral transactions to embrace the broader architecture of global sustainability. Central to this effort is the deepening of integrated green supply chains. Rather than pursuing parallel industrial policies that fragment markets, China and the EU can focus on building a collaborative ecosystem encompassing research and development, standards harmonization, manufacturing specialization, and third-party market deployment.
China and the EU can expand their collaboration through triangular partnerships with developing countries.
Beyond these modes of bilateral cooperation, China and the EU can expand their collaboration through triangular partnerships with developing countries. By combining Chinese manufacturing scale with European regulatory expertise and financial capacity, joint ventures in Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia could deliver tangible benefits to the Global South while strengthening the legitimacy and inclusiveness of global climate governance. Such initiatives align with the EU’s Global Gateway strategy and China’s Belt and Road green development agenda, offering a pragmatic avenue to bridge divergent narratives and reduce the zero-sum dynamics of great-power competition.
Ultimately, the trajectory of China-EU relations in the clean technology domain will hinge on their ability to balance competitive interdependence with cooperative stewardship. The path forward is neither predetermined nor linear; it will require sustained political will, adaptive institutions, and a shared recognition that the stakes extend well beyond bilateral relations. The central question remains: will China and the EU harness the transformative potential of clean technology to unite around a common planetary purpose, or will competing ambitions turn green innovation into another arena of division? The answer will shape not only the future of their partnership but also the fate of the Paris Agreement.
In sum, China-EU cooperation in the green energy sector offers both sides a forward-looking, strategically resilient, and institutionally sustainable model of energy partnership. It holds the promise of advancing a more robust, sustainable, and health-oriented model of global governance – one that provides a replicable and enduring institutional solution for strengthening the Paris Agreement and other green multilateral cooperation worldwide.
