New Energy Competition: It’s Politics First for Both US and China

The China-U.S. strategic competition took a dramatic turn last week, as the Biden administration fired a fresh salvo in the form of substantial tariff hikes on a range of Chinese imports critical to the clean energy transition. The move, which targets electric vehicles (EVs), solar cells, lithium-ion batteries, and critical minerals, came as a surprise to many, given the seemingly amicable climate discussions between the newly appointed U.S. and Chinese climate envoys, John Podesta and Liu Zhenmin, just days earlier.