The Coal Paradox: Inside China’s Contradictory Energy Future

The Coal Paradox: Inside China’s Contradictory Energy Future

China is leading the world in solar, wind, EVs, battery storage, and clean-tech manufacturing. It is also adding coal capacity at a massive scale. How does that even work? In this episode of European Guanxi, Audrey Berder speaks with Belinda Schäpe from CREA about the real forces shaping China's energy transition; a story far more complex than conventional analysis suggests. Some key points of often omitted in this story: 🏭 Provincial governments and state-owned enterprises pursuing overlapping policy objectives 📊 How emissions have actually started leveling off despite coal expansion 💰 Clean energy becoming a genuine economic growth driver, not just policy implementation 🚗 The explosive rise of EVs and electric trucks reshaping industrial capacity 🔌 Battery storage solving flexibility challenges the grid desperately needs But here is what matters most: understanding China's transition means recognising the interplay of tensions and opportunities shaping energy markets globally. The implications extend across trade, industrial competitiveness, Belt and Road, green exports, and carbon markets. Europe must engage thoughtfully with China's transition, considering both competitive and cooperative dimensions. This is the China energy analysis the moment demands.

The Future Beyond the Dollar Dominance - The Renminbi’s Global Ambition

Are we witnessing the slow erosion of dollar dominance? For decades, the US dollar has been the undisputed backbone of the international financial system. Yet growing geopolitical tensions, sanctions, and shifting patterns of trade have posed a question once considered unthinkable: can the world reduce its dependence on the dollar? In this episode, we explore China’s ambitious effort to internationalise the Renminbi, the realities behind the de-dollarisation debate, and whether the future monetary order will be defined by a single hegemon or a growing constellation of competing currencies. Ariel Cardozo Calatrava hosts Marc Moquette and Simon van Oortmerssen from the China Knowledge Network once again, to unpack this complex interplay between political soft power and geoeconomics.

The Nickel Paradox: China, Indonesia, and the Green Transition

Indonesia is now the world's largest nickel producer, supplying 64% of global output in 2024 — yet the mineral powering the EV revolution remains one of the most carbon-intensive to produce. Most of Indonesia's fast-growing nickel processing industry relies on captive coal, locking in one of the world's most carbon-intensive industrial pathways — and China, which controls about three-quarters of Indonesia's smelting capacity, sits at the centre of both the problem and its potential resolution. Audrey Berder speaks with Dr. Muyi Yang, Senior Energy Analyst at Ember, on whether the green transition can reconcile its own contradictions. An insightful conversation for anyone interested in critical minerals, EU-China relations, or the geopolitics of the energy transition.

Ireland and China: Business in a Changing World – with Tadhg O’Callaghan

What does it take for European businesses to succeed in China today? How are Ireland–China economic relations evolving in a shifting geopolitical landscape? And where do opportunities still exist amid growing competition and changing supply chains? In this episode, Xaver Haack speaks with Tadhg O’Callaghan, Director of Enterprise Ireland in China. Together they discuss Tadhg’s professional journey across East Asia, the role of Enterprise Ireland in supporting Irish companies abroad, and what makes a business “China-ready”. The conversation also explores the current state of Sino-Irish relations following recent high-level visits, Ireland’s positioning within wider EU–China dynamics, and the sectors offering the greatest promise for future cooperation — from green technology and offshore wind to education and innovation.

China and Russia: A Complex Partnership — with Sören Urbansky and Martin Wagner

"Limitless partnership"- that's how Xi and Putin proclaim their countries' relations in 2022. However, are the ties between China and Russia actually without limits? How do China and Russia interact on different levels and what impact does this alliance have on the EU and the global order? In this episode, Kiara Link Link hosts Sören Urbansky and Martin Wagner, authors of the book "Entangled Empires: Four Centuries of China-Russia Relations" (2026). Together they unpack the historical roots of China-Russia relations, discuss the concept of asymmetric interdependency and key events shaping both countries until today. In the second part the guests share their analysis on contemporary developments of the Sino-Russia alliance, by delving into its impact on current geopolitics and the role of the EU. If you want to know more about the historical dynamics between China and Russia, check out Urbansky and Wagner’s new book “𝗘𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗘𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗲𝘀: 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗮-𝗥𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗮 𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀” (2026), available at https://www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?book_slug=entangled-empires-four-centuries-of-china--russia-relations--9781509572595