Beijing is just trying to appear concerned about climate change to appease the West, all while China is using more domestic coal as a way to bolster energy independence in the event of a future conflict, according to one political analyst.
“The Biden administration and, frankly, too many politicians in Washington, DC, continue to see China as a partner,” Chuck DeVore, head of national initiatives at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, told Fox News. “They look at things like climate change cooperation as one of the things we should be working on with China.”
“I find [it] absolutely extraordinary that President Xi [Jinping] China and the Communist Party of China give a damn about the planet’s climate or climate change,” DeVore continued. “It’s simply a ploy to get gullible Westerners into thinking that somehow we can get meaningful cooperation.”
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Jinping vowed not to build more overseas coal-fired power plants in 2021. But that same year, the country began building more than half of the world’s new coal-fired power plants, all in China. according to the Wilson Center.
Since the country has no other significant energy sources, China’s reliance on coal allows Beijing to avoid relying on foreign sources, DeVore told Fox News. This also means that China’s recent increase in investment in coal-fired industries helps protect its energy independence in the event of conflict.
US President Joe Biden, right, and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands before their meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
“It’s not about green energy at all,” Devore said. “It’s about making the Chinese economy resilient in the event of a conflict with America.”
China hit a record coal production in November — the same month President Biden and Xi discussed climate goals — and production in 2023 is expected to rise further, according to China’s National Bureau of Statistics. About 55% of China’s energy comes from coal compared to 11% in the United States, according to the US Energy Information Administration.
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“If you look at the amount of EVs being sold in China, you look at their electric high-speed rail, et cetera, they’re going all in,” DeVore told Fox News. “Those EVs in China are coal-powered cars. That’s where the energy to charge cars in China comes from. Coal, Chinese coal.”
“If you thought carbon dioxide emissions were a problem and the planet was warming, then you should ask yourself, ‘why are the Chinese converting so much of their coal to fuel right now,'” DeVore added.
A worker watches a bulldozer unload coal at a coal mine in Huaibei, central China’s Anhui province. (The Associated Press)
China has increased investment in its coal-to-liquid industry, which allows coal to be turned into cheap fuel for pedestrian and military use, according to DeVore. But that process produces more carbon dioxide emissions than traditional oil refining methods.
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Other Chinese green energy products have also sparked concern from federal agencies.
US Customs and Border Protection last year seized shipments of Chinese-made solar equipment because the products came from Xinjiang, where the US has banned purchases for forced labor reasons.
A worker checks a solar component in China. Imports from his Xinjiang region have been suspended over slave labor concerns. (REUTERS/Muyu Xu)
Regardless, climate change shouldn’t be the US-China foreign policy priority, according to DeVore.
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“America’s number one priority is to maintain our ability to deter the People’s Republic of China from aggression against its neighbors,” he said. “That would include the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, India, Indo-Pacific nations.”
“These are nations that are now under serious threat from a country that has become increasingly aggressive and belligerent and has made no secret of its plans for its neighbors,” DeVore told Fox News.
To watch DeVore’s full interview, click here.
Isabelle McDonnell contributed to the video.
