Proceedings of the International Conference on Sustainable Energy: Toward Energy Transition and Net-Zero Emission (ICOSE 2025)

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Uncertain Endgame: Prospects and Challenges of China’s Green Energy Investment in ASEAN

Authors
Dharendra Wardhana1, *
1Nanyang Technological University, Nanyang Centre for Public Administration, Singapore, Singapore
*Corresponding author. Email: dharendra.wardhana@ntu.edu.sg
Corresponding Author
Dharendra Wardhana
Available Online 26 December 2025.
DOI
10.2991/978-94-6463-944-5_5How to use a DOI?
Abstract

Closer relationship between China and countries in Southeast Asia has become important modality for economic relations, especially amid geopolitical turbulent. However, China’s engagement in energy sector presents a contradictory picture, positioning it as both an indispensable enabler of renewable energy (RE) and a source of significant socio-environmental challenges. This paper analyses Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) on green energy in ASEAN from 2013 to 2024, revealing a fundamental transformation in its role. The data shows China has become the region’s dominant green investor, leading in nations like Indonesia, Vietnam, and Laos. A dramatic pivot occurred after President Xi Jinping’s 2021 pledge to end overseas coal financing, with investment shifting decisively to RE, causing the green share of China’s energy portfolio to surpass 60% by 2024. However, this green momentum is undermined by two critical issues. First, the “captive coal” loophole allows new coal plants to be built for industrial parks, creating long-term carbon lock-in. Second, the combination of domestic governance deficit with policy instability in host countries often threaten the progress of green energy transition. Furthermore, the intensity of these investment flows is largely determined by commitments of ASEAN states. The paper concludes that China is a distorted but essential catalyst in which the sustainability of relationship hinges on closing policy loopholes.

Copyright
© 2025 The Author(s)
Open Access
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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Volume Title
Proceedings of the International Conference on Sustainable Energy: Toward Energy Transition and Net-Zero Emission (ICOSE 2025)
Series
Atlantis Highlights in Sustainable Development
Publication Date
26 December 2025
ISBN
978-94-6463-944-5
ISSN
3005-155X
DOI
10.2991/978-94-6463-944-5_5How to use a DOI?
Copyright
© 2025 The Author(s)
Open Access
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

Cite this article

risenwbib
TY  - CONF
AU  - Dharendra Wardhana
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/12/26
TI  - Uncertain Endgame: Prospects and Challenges of China’s Green Energy Investment in ASEAN
BT  - Proceedings of the International Conference on Sustainable Energy: Toward Energy Transition and Net-Zero Emission (ICOSE 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 33
EP  - 68
SN  - 3005-155X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6463-944-5_5
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6463-944-5_5
ID  - Wardhana2025
ER  -