“The US is retreating behind tariff walls while large parts of the world are forging ahead on clean energy,” said Kylie Chan, a postdoctoral researcher at Princeton University. “China seems eager to fill the vacuum on global climate leadership and trade created by the current US administration.”
China, South Korea and Japan have reportedly been in talks to strengthen supply chain cooperation in response to the Trump administration’s protectionist pivot, with clean energy identified as a key focus.
Last month, the US withdrew from the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), a global initiative launched in 2021 to assist developing nations in transitioning from coal to renewable energy sources.
The move was in tandem with Trump’s rollback of international climate commitments, including his executive order in January to withdraw the US from the Paris Agreement for a second time.
