Trump quits clean energy race with China as 'strategy' 😕, Plus Beijing counters US delisting threat with regulatory overhaul -- China Boss News 5.23.25

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What happened?

Trump’s second-term energy doctrine is ripping the GOP in two.

One faction sees clean tech as a chance to outcompete China and rebuild American industry.

The other—the MAGA core—wants out.

They’ve declared the race rigged, the sector compromised, and the only path forward: fossil fuels.

Now that theory is being hardwired into law.

Trump allies in Congress are dismantling Biden’s clean energy incentives, defunding future tech, and torching what could’ve been a $50B export industry—with a defiant message: If China’s already winning, walk away—and punish anyone still running.

Moderate Republicans are fuming. The very factories these cuts would kill are slated for red-state districts.

Meanwhile, foreign rivals who once railed against Biden’s protectionism are salivating at America’s retreat.

It’s strange: Donald Trump is eager to outmatch China in nearly every arena—except this one. 🤔

Why It Matters

Siloviki-ing America’s energy future

The Trump administration’s energy stance leaves little room for doubt: it’s oil, gas, and deregulation—or nothing.

At home, renewables are dismissed outright.

One deputy energy secretary claimed, “There are no wind turbines without concessions to China,”—ignoring that fossil fuels come with their own dependencies, from Moscow to the Gulf.

Abroad, the message is just as aggressive.

U.S. officials have urged Eastern European governments to reject “climate dogma” and embrace hydrocarbons in the name of “sovereignty.” But sovereignty from what?

Trump’s recent trip to Saudi Arabia made the subtext explicit.

Behind closed doors with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, quiet deals were struck on oil market stability.

The real takeaway is that Trump isn’t just tolerating petrostate dominance—he’s entrenching it.

What’s baffling, however, is that even petrostates are preparing for a post-oil world.

Saudi Arabia is investing trillions via Vision 2030, building NEOM, and pouring funds into AI, green hydrogen, and renewables.

The UAE is a regional leader in clean energy, with Masdar and nuclear power, and plans to have 100% clean energy in Dubai by 2050.

So, Gulf states are using oil wealth to pivot toward the future. But Trump isn’t.

And you know who else isn’t?

Russia is the only major petrostate still doubling down on oil without even attempting to diversify—too consumed by war and fueling its bloated military-industrial machine to plan for what comes next.

The planet for China’s electrostate

Trump’s energy doctrine plays right into Putin’s hands:

• It props up oil prices, fueling Russia’s war chest.

• It weakens Europe’s energy independence, inviting backsliding into Russian gas.

• It fractures Western coordination on clean energy, leaving no viable alternative.

• And it expands Russia’s footprint in the Global South via fossil deals and nuclear exports.

But here’s the twist: the Global South isn’t standing still.

Faced with rising energy demand, volatile fuel prices, and worsening climate impacts, countries across Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia are increasingly pivoting toward clean energy—not out of moral imperative, but out of necessity.

Solar and wind are now the cheapest power sources in much of the world. Distributed renewables offer energy access in remote regions without costly grid infrastructure. And green energy shields economies from global fossil price shocks.

Beijing sees this clearly. As Washington withdraws, China is wiring the Global South with solar panels, batteries, and electric transport.

It exported over $13 billion in clean tech last year and now supplies over 80% of the world’s solar panels.

With a newly discovered 30-million-ton uranium reserve, it’s also poised to lead the next wave of nuclear exports.

But don’t mistake China’s leadership for green. It’s been deep red for three-quarters of a century—and its edeavors aren’t about saving the planet. Rather, they’re better seen as a geopolitical land grab powered by electricity.

China’s “electrostate” vision is simple: dominate the infrastructure of the future.

Its firms are stabilizing grids in Africa, powering rail in Southeast Asia, and embedding battery systems in Latin America—all while the U.S. fixates on fossil fuels and raw material extraction.

Instead of investing in clean manufacturing—EVs, batteries, smart grids—the Trump administration has pivoted to mining.

It’s petrostate logic: extract, export, delay the inevitable. Innovation is defunded, agencies are gutted, and permitting is stalled.

And as a bonus? Moscow’s war machine gets more tailwind.

At time of post, House Republicans had just passed Trump’s “big, beautiful” bill. The bill slashes core clean energy tax credits, guts incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act, and threatens to derail the country’s manufacturing revival just as it was gaining momentum.

Even moderates who should have defended these investments either voted yes—or didn’t show up. (By the way, you should read this if you haven’t.)

The clean energy sector erupted in outrage, calling the bill a scorched-earth attack on the very jobs, lower electric bills, and industrial growth Trump claims to support.

Solar, wind, EVs, and clean hydrogen face a rollback disguised as reform. One expert called it a “full repeal.”

Trump’s allies say the new bill is about fiscal discipline.

But in reality, it’s ideological sabotage—crippling the green engine powering economic growth in the very states that helped put him in office.

China wins. Putin wins. But America? We shall sputter, again.

This Week's China News

The Big Story in China Business

CHINA MOVES TO DEFUSE U.S. DELISTING PUSH WITH REGULATORY OVERHAUL: In a high-stakes attempt to revive its tech sector and restore global investor confidence, Beijing has unveiled a slate of regulatory reforms aimed at smoothing the path for Chinese firms to list overseas.

The initiative, led by the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), is being pitched as a market-friendly reset—a pivot toward transparency and predictability, just as China’s economic narrative grows brittle and foreign capital retreats.

New pitch to investors: These reforms are centered on a familiar promise: streamlined listings, clearer oversight, and improved investor safeguards.

The CSRC says it will:

• Trim bureaucracy: Simplify approvals for firms seeking overseas IPOs, especially in Hong Kong, London, and potentially even New York, if tensions ease.

• Enforce fund discipline: Proceeds must be used for core business operations, not speculative ventures or politically favored detours.

• Back pre-profit firms: In a rare embrace of tech risk, Beijing will support early-stage firms in AI, biotech, and semiconductors—even those not yet profitable.

But with Washington gearing up for another round of delisting legislation—citing audit transparency failures and national security risks—Beijing’s reform blitz is as much a defensive maneuver as it is a financial one.

The CSRC’s new posture is meant to telegraph to regulators in D.C. that Chinese firms can play by international rules—or at least convincingly perform the part.

The strategy is clear: buy time. Firms can now pivot to friendlier exchanges in Hong Kong, Singapore, or London before U.S. scrutiny tightens again.

It’s a smart hedge—and a narrative shift. After years of tightening control at home, Beijing again wants to look like a reformer abroad.

Geopolitical implications: Beijing’s loosening is also a soft-power play.

Overseas listings allow China to project influence, diversify funding channels, and counter the U.S.-led effort to financially quarantine its high-tech sector.

It’s an effort to globalize China’s champions without surrendering sovereignty—an attempt to thread the needle between openness and control.

And it’s a nod to Beijing’s tech-nationalist instincts. Let the firms go global, yes—but not too far. If they can access foreign capital while staying loyal to Party oversight, Beijing chalks that up as a geopolitical win.

The China Boss rundown: China’s tech sector is still haunted by regulatory uncertainty, uneven enforcement, and a system in which the law answers to the Party—not the other way around.

Investors burned in past waves—Alibaba’s 11th-hour takedown, Didi’s delisting, the education-tech wipeout, etc. —remember how quickly “reform” can become a crackdown.

And beneath it all, corruption still distorts the playing field.

Xi Jinping’s anti-graft campaign may clean house for a few weeks at the top, but at the local level, favoritism, insider dealings, and “guanxi” are baked into the system.

True, Beijing’s regulatory reset could reopen the gates for China’s tech elite to tap global capital and bring Wall Street back into the game—on Beijing’s terms.

Still, the real test won’t be the press release—China cranks those out faster than cheap EVs.

As always, the real question is whether China can deliver meaningful, enforceable reforms in a system where opacity is the rule—not the exception.

Law and International Xi

U.S. TURNS TO SAUDI ARABIA IN AI STANDOFF WITH CHINA: Just two days before it was set to take effect, the Trump administration scrapped the Biden-era “AI Diffusion Rule”—a sweeping attempt to block adversaries like China from accessing advanced U.S. AI chips and model weights.

The reversal came after fierce pushback from tech giants like Nvidia, who warned the rule would stifle innovation, fracture global supply chains, and drive foreign markets straight into China’s orbit.

Cutting off access risked accelerating Beijing’s efforts to build its own AI hardware, they challenged.

In place of sweeping bans, the Trump administration is now exploring a controversial workaround: data embassies.

Modeled after diplomatic conventions, these would host U.S.-controlled AI infrastructure in foreign countries—especially Saudi Arabia—under American legal jurisdiction.

According to Bloomberg, the idea recently gained steam during Trump’s May 2025 Middle East tour and dovetails perfectly with Riyadh’s proposed “Global AI Hub Law.”

But trusting Saudi Arabia with the digital lifeblood of U.S. AI is no small risk.

A precarious tradeoff: The Kingdom has deep commercial ties to China, including in 5G, cloud, and AI.

During Xi Jinping’s 2023 visit to Riyadh, over $30 billion in deals were inked.

Huawei helped build much of the region’s digital infrastructure, and Saudi money is key to Beijing’s tech ambitions.

The bottom line: In 2018, Saudi agents murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi in a KSA consulate—technically on American soil. The U.S. intelligence community later concluded Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman likely approved it.

In other words, legal jurisdiction means little without physical control. In a crisis, nothing would stop Riyadh from surveilling, seizing, or sabotaging U.S. servers.

Furthermore, diplomatic immunity doesn’t protect against a rogue state operator with root access.

The U.S. may be trying to keep its tech from China—only to entrust it to an untrustworthy regime playing both sides.

Geopolitics

INDIA ACCUSES CHINA OF HELPING PAKISTAN SPOT JETS, TROOPS: Indian defense analysts now allege that Chinese military advisers directly aided Pakistan in the days before Islamabad downed six Indian warplanes, including three French Rafales, in a dramatic escalation over Kashmir.

According to Lt. Gen. Ashok Kumar of India’s Ministry of Defense think tank, Chinese advisers helped recalibrate Pakistan’s radar and satellite surveillance to spot Indian jets and troop movements in real time.

But, defense analysts say, Beijing didn’t just hand over weapons—it also shaped the strike.

The clash came days after a terrorist attack in Indian-administered Kashmir killed 26 civilians.

India blamed Pakistan-based militants and responded with “Operation Sindoor,” targeting alleged camps.

Pakistan’s retaliation was swift—and different. It deployed Chinese J-10C fighter jets and, for the first time in combat, the PL-15: a Mach 5 air-to-air missile that caught global military watchers off guard.

Pajama party: At 4AM, Pakistan’s Foreign Office was buzzing—with Chinese diplomats.

“They were very happy,” said Pakistan’s foreign minister, referring not just to Pakistan’s performance—but China’s.

Indian analysts argue the PLA used this conflict as a live-fire rehearsal, quietly gathering battlefield data on its satellite, radar, and missile systems.

That would be very valuable intelligence for future theaters like Taiwan or the South China Sea.

Meanwhile, the fallout is spreading. Over 1.5 million Indian infrastructure targets were hit in a coordinated cyberattack, allegedly also with Chinese backing.

Dozens of government websites remain offline.

Going global: China has reportedly offered the jets to Colombia—just days after the country joined the Belt and Road Initiative.

It’s a calculated move. Colombia had previously signed on to buy Swedish Gripen-E jets powered by U.S. tech—but China is pitching the J-10C as “battle-tested” and sanction-proof.

The May 10 ceasefire, brokered by Trump, seems to have paused the shooting.

But it didn’t quiet the alarm: China isn’t just arming proxies in hot international disputes—it’s running operations.

Best Reads

Australian Matthew Radalj tells of life in China prison (Stephen McDonnell, BBC): Australian citizen Matthew Radalj has gone public with harrowing details of his five-year imprisonment in China’s Beijing No. 2 prison, describing severe physical abuse, forced labor, psychological manipulation, and inhumane conditions.

Analysis: Trump’s truce with China on tariffs comes at a cost to U.S. credibility (Zongyuan Zoe Liu, Council on Foreign Relations): The U.S. and China 90-day tariff rollback exposes America's reliance on just-in-time supply chains and gives China time to reroute exports, deepen regional ties, and expand its influence—while the U.S. scrambles to reframe a costly retreat.

'China Targets': How Beijing found a friend in a small Belgian town (Anas El Bayem The Brussels Times): In the quiet Belgian town of Huy, local politician Eric Dosogne stands accused of edging too close to Beijing—allegedly agreeing to brief Chinese officials on a vocal Belgian critic of China.

Middle Kingdom Surreal

THE PARTY’S OVER (AGAIN): XI REINS IN CADRE LUXURIES: China’s Communist Party has 100 million members.

Not because Marx is sexy. But because power pays.

In a country where the state owns and controls pretty much everything—from the earth to industry—the fastest way to wealth isn’t innovation or hustle. It’s a Party ID and a well-timed toast to the right superior.

In other words, many see the fastest path to wealth in China not through innovation or enterprise, but by climbing the bureaucratic ladder—rising through the ranks, and trading favors, while dining like a red aristocrat.

Party pooper: But now party members have been forced back on their diets.

This week, Beijing released a new decree: no more Moutai-fueled banquets, no more decorative orchids, no more VIP send-offs at airports.

Even office chairs are expected to be worn thin.

Xi Jinping has played this tune before.

In 2012, his “anti-corruption” campaign swept the nation—publicly shaming officials while privately clearing out his enemies.

Now, with the economy flailing, exports sinking, and youth unemployment a national joke, he’s running the austerity script again.

‘Four dishes and a soup’: State media is glorifying Xi’s monkish habits—“four dishes and a soup,” delivered with Mao-era reverence.

Meanwhile, minor officials are being tarred and feathered for overspending on office renovations and flat-screen TVs. Moral discipline, they say, is patriotic. Luxury is treason.

Few are buying it, however. On social media, netizens are rolling their eyes. “Looks like the economy’s really tight,” one Weibo user quipped.

Which raises the question: what happens when the perks dry up? When wealth-for-loyalty is swapped for thrift lectures and hand-me-down office supplies?

Because ride-or-die doesn’t run on slogans. If the Party elite can’t drink the good stuff, flash the watches, or build quiet empires behind closed doors—why stick with the man?

Xi may believe modesty signals strength. But in a system perennially greased by privilege and patronage, forced-to-go-without isn’t a virtue for the ambitious partycrat—it’s a warning sign.

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Have a great weekend.