How China Became a Solar Power

An illustration shows a red jagged line chart atop images of solar panels and a worker carrying a solar panel. Infographic

How China Became a Solar Power

Beijing’s green energy ambitions are fueling a global revolution. November 11, 2025, 10:57 AM Comment icon View Comments ( )

U.S. President Donald Trump may have spurned solar power, but that has done little to slow the solar revolution that is sweeping nearly every other corner of the world, from Pakistan to Chile.

That momentum has been largely fueled by one country: China. Today, China commands more than 80 percent of the world’s solar supply chains , according to the International Energy Agency (IEA)—and even that figure only begins to capture the sheer speed and scale of the country’s solar sprint.

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