Analysis: Clean Energy Carried China’s Economy in 2025, but Risks Are Rising

China’s clean energy industries were the single most important drivers of the country’s economic growth last year and dominated new investment. But whether that momentum can be sustained is increasingly uncertain, as power market reforms, geopolitical tensions and price wars weigh on profitability, according to a new analysis.

Solar power, electric vehicles (EVs) and other clean energy technologies contributed over one-third of China’s GDP growth in 2025 and accounted for more than 90% of the net increase in investment, according to an analysis report by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) for Carbon Brief. Without those sectors, the economy would have expanded by just 3.5%, falling short of Beijing’s target of “around 5%,” CREA analysts Lauri Myllyvirta and Belinda Schaepe said.

Clean Energy Fueled China’s Growth in 2025

The clean energy industries nearly doubled in value to 15.4 trillion yuan ($2.1 trillion) in 2025 from 8.4 trillion yuan in 2022, according to the report, published Thursday. That figure is comparable to the size of Brazil’s or Canada’s economy, underscoring how central clean energy has become to China’s growth model.