As war-driven fuel shocks rattle global markets, Beijing is treating solar, grids, storage, hydropower, nuclear and EVs less as green symbolism than as strategic insulation.
On April 6, 2026, as the Iran war and the Strait of Hormuz crisis were still convulsing energy markets, Xi Jinping urged faster planning and construction of a “new energy system.” The signal mattered less because it was dramatic than because it was revealing. Xi paired continued low-carbon development with support for hydropower, orderly nuclear expansion and coal’s ongoing stabilizing role. That is not the language of a government treating climate policy as a side project.
