Energy partnerships between China and the Global South over the past decade have been heavy on fossil fuel infrastructure and critical mineral mining, both highly polluting. Since 2021, the Chinese government has started a pivot towards a greener Belt and Road Initiative, emphasizing clean energy investments and projects. The Xi administration banned coal-fired power plant construction along the Belt and Road in 2021 and issued new regulations and standards for improving environmental performance of overseas projects.

To take the pulse on this move to green the BRI, this meeting, in partnership with the Heinrich Böll Foundation, will feature conversations on low- and high-carbon energy projects China has been building in the Global South. Expert panelists Jacqueline Musiitwa (USAID), Kate Logan (Asia Society Policy Institute), and Juliana González Jáuregui (Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences, Argentina) will offer insights on energy partnerships and their impact in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America, respectively.