Aerial view of a solar power plant on a mountain in Guizhou, China, circa April 2026. China’s dominance in solar manufacturing has made it the world’s leading supplier of photovoltaic technology and a growing source of geopolitical influence. (Shutterstock/ABCDstock)

Why China’s Control of Solar Supply Chains Is a Problem for America

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China’s dominance in solar manufacturing is creating new geopolitical dependencies that could weaken American influence, security partnerships, and long-term energy competitiveness.

Energy is becoming an increasingly important arena of geopolitical competition, as demand rises and states seek reliable and affordable ways to power growth. In the developing world, solar energy is particularly emerging as a central component of the energy landscape, and as more countries rely more on Chinese solar infrastructure to meet rising energy needs, Beijing could gain geopolitical leverage over them. This growing dependence poses a strategic problem for the United States, as a rival is increasingly capable of shaping the infrastructure behind future growth in a geopolitical battleground. Washington has an incentive to help build alternative energy pathways with allies and partners before that dependence hardens. 

Energy demand will increase significantly in the coming years and decades, driven by economic development and technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and its data centers; in 2050, demand is expected to be doublewhat it was in 2020. Much of that growth will come from the developing world, which in 2024 drove over 80 percent of the increase in global demand. Solar is a critical component of future energy systems and is particularly appealing to developing countries because it is cheap, highly scalable, and well suited to isolated or underserved areas that lack reliable grid access. These advantages are helping drive rapid solar adoptionacross developing countries, where economic growth is intensifying energy demand. 

China’s Solar Supply Chain Dominance 

China currently dominates the global solar industry, with a vertically integrated supply chain that produces about 85 percent of the world’s solar panels. Chinese solar technology is heavily integrated into developing economies and is generating significant electricity growth. The evidence in Africa is striking: over the last year, Chinese solar exports to the continent rose over 60 percent, could generate about 61 percent and 49........

© The National Interest