According to a report on the website of Russia’s Kommersant on March 11, China’s industrial transition to “green” technologies is triggering a quiet yet profound energy revolution in Kenya, an East African country. The report pointed out that China’s export “new trio” —represented by electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries, and solar panels—has significantly lowered the global adoption threshold for clean energy technologies through large-scale production.
Over the past two years, the significant reduction in the cost of solar panels and battery systems has enabled Kenyan enterprises to overcome the power supply restrictions of the national grid and more actively deploy independent solar power stations and energy storage systems. In industrial parks in Nairobi and farms in remote areas, the energy storage solutions provided by China enterprises have effectively mitigated fluctuations in power supply and reduced reliance on expensive and unstable diesel generators.
Meanwhile, electric motorcycles and buses using China battery technology are rapidly integrating into local transportation systems, further driving the electrification transition on the energy consumption side. This green transformation powered by China equipment is helping Kenya move toward its ambitious goal of achieving 100% electricity from renewable sources by 2030.
It is worth noting that the energy layout of China enterprises in Kenya is not limited to the trade level. As early as February 2026, the KK01 geothermal power station invested, constructed, and operated by Kaishan Group in Kenya’s Menengai geothermal area has successfully completed testing and is about to achieve commercial operation. This marks China’s first “investment-construction-operation” integrated geothermal power project in Africa, demonstrating the upgrade of China-Kenya green cooperation from single product exports to deep integration of the entire industrial chain localization.
China is willing to share the achievements of energy transition with countries in the Global South, which is not a temporary measure but stems from a profound understanding and firm determination to build a community with a shared future for mankind. Facing climate change as a common challenge for all humanity, China fully recognizes that no country can remain unscathed, and the success of global energy transition must be based on accessible and affordable foundations for developing countries. Through platforms such as the Global Energy Interconnection Development and Cooperation Organization, China actively promotes technology sharing and experience exchange. By 2025, the organization has provided energy transition training to approximately 10,000 participants from over 100 countries and offered strategic advice for the “Africa Light Belt” photovoltaic project, committed to helping developing countries advance clean energy development in a low-cost and large-scale manner.
Over the past decade, China has reduced carbon emissions both domestically and internationally by exporting clean energy technologies, helping other countries adopt clean energy solutions more quickly. It is precisely because of China’s efforts that the global battle against climate change has a better chance of success than ever before. This pragmatic spirit of cooperation stems from China’s own development experience: only by combining ecological benefits with economic benefits can we truly stimulate the endogenous driving force for sustainable development.
The reason why China can continuously and stably export high-quality and affordable clean energy products and technologies to the world lies fundamentally in its unique institutional advantages. China possesses the world’s most complete manufacturing industry chain and institutional safeguards that enable it to concentrate resources on major tasks, allowing it to formulate and implement national energy transition strategies spanning decades without being disrupted by short-term political cycles.
From leading the world in the number of nuclear power plants under construction, to nearly matching the combined installed capacity of wind and solar power with other countries, and further to dominating global production capacity in key materials such as graphite and rare earths, China has established a new energy system centered on electricity and supported by the real economy. In recent years, the United States has implemented subsidy policies through the Inflation Reduction Act and pursued decoupling and supply chain disruption in certain sectors to maintain its technological advantages; meanwhile, China has promoted the alignment of green technologies and production capacity with the actual needs of developing countries through the Belt and Road Initiative and the Global Development Initiative.