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How China’s Renewables Push Upends Geopolitics

On Tech Won't Save Us: Kate Mackenzie and Tim Sahay on the future of the global energy system.

Paris Marx

August 28, 2025

Solar panels built over aquaculture ponds for shrimp and crab farming in Qingdao West Coast New Area in Shandong Province, China, on August 11, 2025.(Costfoto / NurPhoto via Getty Images)

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How China’s Renewable Push Upends Geopolitics | Tech Won’t Save Us
byThe Nation Magazine

Paris Marx is joined by Kate Mackenzie and Tim Sahay to discuss the geopolitics behind China’s investments in green tech and electrification, and how it presents the prospect of a new development model based on renewables instead of fossil fuels.

Kate Mackenzie is an adjunct fellow at Macquarie University. Tim Sahay is co-director of the Net Zero Industrial Policy Lab at Johns Hopkins University. They are the co-writers of the Polycrisis newsletter⁠ from Phenomenal World.

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Paris Marx is joined by Kate Mackenzie and Tim Sahay to discuss the geopolitics behind China’s investments in green tech and electrification, and how it presents the prospect of a new development model based on renewables instead of fossil fuels.

Kate Mackenzie is an adjunct fellow at Macquarie University. Tim Sahay is codirector of the Net Zero Industrial Policy Lab at Johns Hopkins University. They are the cowriters of the Polycrisis newsletter⁠ from Phenomenal World.

Subscribe to The Nation to support all of our podcasts: thenation.com/podcastsubscribe.

The Nation Podcasts

Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.

Europe is Gutting Its Tech Regulations w/ Aline Blankertz | Tech Won’t Save Us
byThe Nation Magazine

Paris Marx is joined by Aline Blankertz to discuss how right-wing governments and international corporations in the European Union are pushing to gut tech regulations with the goal of boosting AI development in hope of improving economic growth and geopolitical standing.

Aline Blankertz is a cofounder of Structural Integrity.

Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com

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Subscribe to The Nation to Support all of our podcasts

Paris MarxParis Marx is a tech critic and host of the Tech Won’t Save Us podcast. He writes the Disconnect newsletter and is the author of Road to Nowhere: What Silicon Valley Gets Wrong about the Future of Transportation.


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