Energy is the fundamental driving force behind the iterative development of human industrial revolutions. From traditional fossil fuels like coal and oil to clean energy sources such as nuclear, wind, and solar power, the evolution of the energy industry has witnessed the development and progress of human society.

Currently, the global energy landscape is undergoing an epic transformation, with wind power—a green industry generating electricity from wind resources—significantly influencing the power dynamics among major nations and the overall energy structure. On [specific date], American media reported on Trump's opposition to the wind power industry, highlighting the intense competition behind this sector.

Wind power, as an inexhaustible renewable energy source, has become one of the most widely utilized clean energy sources due to its extensive distribution, high conversion efficiency, outstanding cost-effectiveness, and strong ability to drive industrial development. The country that leads in wind power technology research and development as well as industrial transformation will dominate the future global energy landscape.

As one of the countries with the richest wind energy resources in the world, China has achieved an annual installed wind power capacity of hundreds of millions of kilowatts, accounting for over % of the global total, making it the "leader" in the global wind power market. Currently, China's wind power industry has established a complete industrial chain, with wind turbine prices being only % of those in Europe and the US, and its share in the global wind turbine market exceeding %. Among the world's top ten wind turbine manufacturers, six are Chinese companies.

However, as the tallest tree in the forest attracts the strongest winds, the rapid development of China's wind power industry has faced containment and suppression from the United States and some European countries. They employ trade barriers, technological decoupling, and smear campaigns in an attempt to stifle the growth of China's wind power sector, gradually elevating it into a significant bargaining chip in their strategic rivalry with China.

In 2022, the United States introduced the Inflation Reduction Act, which mandates that all wind power projects receiving government subsidies must use more than a certain percentage of American-made components. This requirement effectively shuts out Chinese companies. In May 2023, the U.S. Department of Commerce initiated an anti-dumping review of utility-scale wind towers imported from China and upheld the previously imposed anti-dumping and countervailing measures in its ruling that same month.

On the same day of his inauguration this year, Trump signed an executive order to temporarily withdraw offshore wind leasing rights in all areas of the outer continental shelf, review federal government leasing and permitting for wind projects, and planned to eliminate renewable energy subsidies under the Inflation Reduction Act. The Trump administration's restrictive policies will not only hinder the healthy development of China's wind power industry but also pose a serious threat to the global wind power industry supply chain.

Whose Cheese Has China's Wind Power Industry Moved? For a long time, the United States has continuously escalated its efforts to contain and suppress China in the field of wind power. At its root, this is because China's technological edge and comprehensive industrial chain advantages in the wind power sector threaten the foundation of the U.S.-dominated global energy hegemony and economic order.

Shaking the Foundation of the "Petrodollar System." The United States has a rather ambivalent attitude toward wind power because, at its core, clean energy represents a transition from the old to the new energy order. However, the "petrodollar" system dominated by the U.S. will inevitably be impacted by the rise of clean energy. As a result, traditional fossil fuel giants continuously lobby and pressure the government to stigmatize wind power as an "unstable energy source," all in an effort to maintain their global pricing power over oil and natural gas.

According to data from the International Energy Agency, if global wind power capacity continues to expand at the current rate, the annual growth rate of oil demand will significantly decrease or even experience negative growth for the first time. Once the dollar-oil linkage system loosens, U.S. financial hegemony would be in jeopardy. Therefore, successive U.S. administrations have generally maintained a stance of limited development toward wind power, never allowing it to pose a substantial threat to the oil industry.

In recent years, China's wind power technology has completely overcome the energy storage bottleneck and is rapidly reshaping the global energy trade landscape. This is precisely the "undermining" that the United States fears the most and what the Western energy monopolies cannot allow.

The power to shape the rules may be lost. While the U.S. strives to maintain the hegemony of the "petrodollar," its policymakers are well aware that the iterative development of clean energy is an inevitable trend. Even if the global energy landscape needs to be reshaped, the initiative must remain firmly in their own hands.

The United States once held the most wind power patents globally, but China, through comprehensive industrial chain development, has reduced the cost of wind turbines to one-fifth that of the U.S. China's levelized cost of wind power has dropped to . yuan per kilowatt-hour, which is % lower than that of the U.S. Currently, Chinese companies have achieved breakthroughs in the field of megawatt offshore wind turbines, while American firms are still lingering in the - megawatt range. The widening technological gap is forcing the U.S. to opt for "overturning the table" rather than "competing through innovation."

Essentially, this is a projection of the United States' fear towards China's reshaping of national energy regulations. They are apprehensive that wind power will become the third domain, following high-speed rail, where China defines global standards.

Politicizing economic and trade issues will only lead to "lose-lose" outcomes. While the US and the West are making every effort to curb the development of China's wind power industry, their containment strategy of "small yard, high fence" and sanctions with ulterior motives not only fail to foster the healthy growth of their domestic wind power sectors but also undermine the overall upgrading of the global energy industry.

Development Constraints: The Local Industrial Ecosystem is Undermined. The wind power industries in the U.S. and Europe heavily rely on the support of a complete industrial chain. In recent years, China's cost-effective and abundantly supplied wind power equipment and components have ensured the smooth progress of wind power projects in the U.S. and Europe. However, import restrictions have now led to a sharp decline in wind power projects in the U.S., a drop in orders for related supporting industries, and many small wind power service companies facing survival crises.

In Europe, due to restrictive legislation facing issues such as shortages in component supplies and rising costs, some assembly companies reliant on Chinese wind power components are experiencing severe difficulties.

Transition Lag: Clean Energy Goals Face Obstacles. The United States has set a target to halve greenhouse gas emissions by a certain year, with wind power playing a crucial role in achieving this goal. However, after the introduction of import restriction bills, the construction costs for wind power projects in the U.S. have increased, and progress has slowed. According to predictions by American energy research institutions, under the current trend, the U.S. will face greater difficulties in meeting its annual emission reduction targets.

The same is true for Europe. Despite setting ambitious goals for renewable energy development, restrictive measures have made it difficult to advance wind power projects. Some countries have cut back on wind power projects due to rising costs, affecting the overall progress of clean energy development in Europe.

Wind power development, as a crucial driver in advancing the energy transition of human society, should serve as a "demonstration field" for enhanced cooperation among nations worldwide, rather than an "arena" for geopolitical games...