As the U.S. Steps Back, China Steps Up: Inside China's Global Climate Strategy

In Chinese Global Environmentalism, Alex L. Wang examines China's embrace of green development on the global stage. He traces Chinese global environmentalism's evolution and motivations and analyzes its deployment through the governance tools of green ideology, diplomacy, economic statecraft, and international development cooperation. He conceives of Chinese global environmentalism as a wide-ranging economic and political strategy used to unsettle traditional views of China and bolster the legitimacy of Chinese power at home and abroad. The author argues that Chinese global environmentalism, while not without its fits and starts, is enabling China to make inroads internationally with implications for China's rise and the natural environment that are only beginning to be appreciated. In an interview conducted on June 4, 2026, Alex Wang joins Joanna Lewis to discuss China's role on the global stage when it comes to environmental development. About the program: https://www.ncuscr.org/event/chinese-global-environmentalism/