In 2024-2025, ECDPM investigated the potential for EU-China cooperation on Africa’s green transition. We concluded that the best course of action for Europe is to strategically assess where, when and how to work with China, rather than avoid it at all costs.
The green transition as a competitive frontier
The green transition has become a frontier of geoeconomic competition. This carries major implications for countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. They heavily rely on external financing, technology or markets to transform their societies and economies, but increasingly face situations where major powers view their relations with these countries solely through the lens of geopolitical competition with other major powers.
For Europe, climate action is deeply intertwined with ambitions around competitiveness and economic security.
For China, green industries sit at the core of its economic resilience strategy and global outreach. China also dominates green tech manufacturing and strategic supply chains, especially critical raw minerals.
Europe considers these developments as both a competitive challenge and a dependency risk.
As bilateral relations have worsened, Europe has grown to see China as a direct competitor to its interests in partner countries. Brussels sees the option of working with Chinese entities in developing countries as de facto ‘off the menu’.
For its part, China’s call for alignment is unconvincing, especially given China’s own industrial policies and trade measures.
Developing countries face a different reality
Crucially, great power competition does not resonate with most countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
African countries prioritise their development, of which a socioeconomically viable green transition is a part.
They see the green transition as an opportunity to create jobs, improve their economic performance, address economic vulnerabilities and reduce inequality within and between countries.
Diverse partnerships are also an opportunity to improve energy access, industrialise sustainably and benefit from natural resources endowments.
About the Authors:
Mariella Di Ciommo is a senior policy analyst in ECDPM’s European foreign and development policy team. Mariella’s work focuses on EU foreign and development policy, including the EU-long term budget, implications for Europe of China’s global engagement and gender equality.
Poorva Karkare is a senior policy analyst at ECDPM working on issues of industrialisation and regional integration in Africa with a political economy lens.
Pauline Veron is a policy analyst working in ECDPM’s European foreign and development policy, migration and mobility and peace, security and resilience teams. She is ECDPM’s Representative in The Hague.