As the 30th United Nations climate change conference (COP30) draws to a close in Belém, Brazil, the global climate community finds itself in a new era of leadership and cooperation—one shaped not by the usual Western powers, but by a rising partnership between Asian giants and the practical efforts of Chinese enterprises. Over the two-week summit ending November 21, 2025, China and India have stepped into the spotlight, anchoring negotiations and influencing the direction of climate finance, trade, and technological collaboration among developing countries. Meanwhile, Chinese companies such as China Southern Power Grid (CSG) have showcased practical solutions and a commitment to low-carbon innovation, underlining China’s growing role in global decarbonization.
With the United States having withdrawn from the Paris Agreement and the European Union preoccupied with the political and economic fallout of the war in Ukraine, the traditional drivers of climate ambition have been notably absent from the negotiating table. According to Mongabay, this leadership vacuum has made India and China’s coordinated positions more influential than ever, giving smaller nations a collective voice and a sense of direction in uncertain times. Their partnership, long established but now newly significant, has provided a stabilizing force for a summit that otherwise might have drifted.
Inside the negotiation rooms, the camaraderie between Indian and Chinese delegates has been palpable and productive. One Indian negotiator reportedly joked that a tense climate-finance session felt like “mandatory therapy,” to which a Chinese delegate replied, “Not just therapy. We need yoga and a massage.” The light-hearted exchange, as described by a delegate present, softened the mood but also highlighted the easy alignment between the two countries. Their arguments are straightforward: don’t ask developing countries to take on tougher climate targets without reliable funding, don’t introduce trade measures that make clean energy more expensive, and don’t change the basic rules of climate responsibility without broad agreement.
On November 19, 2025, India’s Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav met with Liu Zhenmin, China’s Special Envoy for Climate Change, to coordinate with other Like-Minded Developing Countries (LMDC) and reaffirm their commitment to upholding the Paris Agreement. “Our discussions involved matters related to coordination between LMDC countries in the ongoing developments in COP30, with particular focus on maintaining the integrity of the Paris Agreement,” Yadav stated on social media. This partnership, according to Mongabay, has become the summit’s steadying hand, guiding negotiations and amplifying the concerns of developing nations at a moment when global climate diplomacy feels adrift.
The practical side of China’s climate leadership has been on display through the active participation of Chinese enterprises at COP30. China Southern Power Grid (CSG), for instance, hosted a series of events at the China Pavilion on November 19 themed “Forge a New Chapter for Green Power Grid, Lay the Foundation for a World-Class Enterprise.” As reported by PRNewswire, CSG, together with China National Petroleum Corporation and China Energy Investment Group Co., brought together representatives from governments, businesses, and research institutions across multiple countries to discuss how all stakeholders can support China’s dual-carbon goals and strengthen global climate governance.
During the conference, a CSG executive delivered a keynote speech outlining the company’s progress in developing a next-generation power system and supporting the clean energy transition. The company also chaired an international roundtable on low-carbon and sustainable development, with participants from Brazil, Peru, and other countries exploring collaborative approaches to accelerate low-carbon industrial development. A special session titled “New Practices of Eco-Oriented Enterprises in Advancing Green and Low-Carbon Development” saw the release of the China Southern Power Grid Eco-Oriented Enterprises Report in both Chinese and English, offering a clear overview of CSG’s strategy for supporting the shift to renewable energy. Case studies, themed exhibitions, and even an interactive tea-making demonstration powered by clean electricity brought CSG’s innovation to life for attendees.
China’s impact on global decarbonization extends far beyond the conference halls. According to Dr. Igor Skryabin of the Australian National University and Dr. Kaveh Khalilpour of the University of Technology Sydney, China’s technological innovation, manufacturing capacity, and economies of scale have made solar power the cheapest source of electricity in history. Over the past decade, China has helped reduce the average cost of electricity for global wind power projects by 60 percent and for solar photovoltaic projects by 80 percent, according to China’s State Council Information Office. Electric vehicles are also becoming increasingly affordable, again propelled by China’s scale and innovation. As Dr. Skryabin noted in an interview with China News Network, “China has already supported the green transition in developing countries.”
Australia and China, despite different governance systems, share a common goal of global decarbonization. Skryabin and Khalilpour see extensive potential for cooperation in clean energy, including joint university programs, study tours, and circular economy approaches to electric vehicle battery recycling. The green metals supply chain, linked with the emerging hydrogen economy, offers even greater scope for collaboration, with Australia’s resource base and China’s industrial capacity creating a natural partnership for future growth.
At the heart of the China-India partnership at COP30 is a shared resistance to what they see as unfair burdens on developing countries. Both nations have strongly opposed the European Union’s planned carbon border tax, which would raise the price of imported goods in the EU based on their carbon footprint. Developing countries fear their exports would be hit hardest, and India and China have been among the most vocal critics of the plan in Belém. Their expanding clean-energy trade—China as the world’s largest producer of solar panels, batteries, and other equipment, and India as a major importer—has the potential to define Asia’s decarbonization trajectory, according to Teevrat Garg, Associate Professor at the University of California at San Diego.
Yet, the partnership has its limits. India is determined to reduce its dependence on Chinese technology by building more solar and battery factories at home, while China aims to protect its manufacturing dominance. Both countries also seek influence within the developing world, sometimes competing quietly for diplomatic space. Their border tensions and broader geopolitical rivalry do not disappear simply because they push similar positions in climate talks. Transparency remains another point of divergence: India publishes more climate data than many developing countries, but still struggles with slow updates and uneven reporting, while China is more guarded, with many firms holding back full emissions disclosures.
As COP30 marks the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement, the world has seen impressive technological progress but relatively little political follow-through. Dr. Skryabin observed that rising geopolitical tensions have become a major obstacle to coordinated global climate action. “Genuine climate cooperation requires a high level of political goodwill,” he said, adding that enhancing mutual political confidence is essential to achieving more effective global climate governance.
For now, the absence of traditional Western leadership has made India and China’s voices resonate more clearly, not through grandstanding but through consistent, pragmatic stewardship. Whether this shift becomes permanent remains to be seen. But in Belém, their partnership—alongside the practical contributions of Chinese enterprises—has helped steady a summit searching for direction, proving that new forms of climate leadership can emerge when the world needs them most.
