Red Dragon, Green Energy: Techno-nationalism in China's Approach to Renewable Energy

Abstract

China's approach to renewable energy technologies has important long-term implications for a range of pressing international issues, from climate change to economic competition to energy security. This paper explores how the Chinese goernment has approached the development and diffusion of such technologies within China since 2005, focusing on the role of "techno-nationalism" in Chinese policy making in particular. It begins by reviewing the literature on techno-nationalism and developing a typology that differentiates between more or less techno-nationalist views. It then examines the Chinese policy discourse with respect to renewable energy technoliges to identify the extent to which the elements of techno-nationalism are present. Lastly, it evaluates the congruence between Chinese techno-nationalism and Chinese policy in the renewable energy sphere.