Opinion | How a rising China is becoming a provider of global public goods

This is a crisis of global governance. But beneath the noise of geopolitical friction, a more constructive narrative is taking shape. From the technology behind solar-powered vaccine hubs in rural Nigeria to the birth of pharmaceutical sovereignty in Egypt, China’s growth is proving to be a critical supply-side solution for a system grappling with an immense governance deficit.

This shift also represents an evolution in how global public goods are delivered – moving from “giving a man a fish” to “teaching him how to fish”.

Evidence of this shift is undeniable. As we enter 2026, the “electron gap” has surged to the top of the global agenda. We are witnessing a historic collision between the energy-hungry artificial intelligence (AI) revolution and the urgent requirements of the green transition. For many nations, the lack of stable, affordable power is the modern face of poverty.

Here, China’s industrial scale – underpinned by clean energy investments that topped US$890 billion in 2023 – effectively functions as a “green” subsidy for the planet. In driving down the cost of solar and wind energy, China has lowered the entry barrier for the entire Global South. It has allowed low-income nations to reach climate and digital targets that were previously fiscal impossibilities.