China is building renewable energy at a scale that is rapidly reshaping its electricity sector, but the country remains heavily dependent on fossil fuels, particularly coal.

The world’s largest renewable-energy market has continued to expand its solar and wind capacity while maintaining a huge coal-powered electricity system. According to Ember, fossil fuels still accounted for 58% of China’s electricity generation in 2025, although that was down from around 62% the previous year.

The scale of China’s renewable expansion is significant. The International Energy Agency says China accounted for about 40% of global renewable capacity expansion between 2019 and 2024, driven largely by rapid growth in solar PV and wind power.

That growth is beginning to affect fossil-fuel demand. Ember’s 2026 Global Electricity Review found that the global surge in solar power helped prevent another increase in fossil-fuel generation, while its China data shows the country reached a major milestone as clean electricity growth increasingly meets rising demand.

However, China’s energy transition is not a simple switch from fossil fuels to renewables. Analysts have pointed to a strategy of expanding multiple energy sources at the same time. A February 2026 Harvard analysis noted that China continues to develop renewable energy while retaining significant fossil-fuel capacity, reflecting the country’s enormous energy demand and concerns about energy security.

The result is a unique energy landscape: China is simultaneously the world’s biggest builder of solar and wind power and one of its largest consumers of coal.

For the rest of the world, China’s experience highlights an important reality about the energy transition. Building renewable capacity is only one part of the equation. The real test is whether clean energy can grow quickly enough to meet rising demand and gradually displace fossil fuels.

China may not have completely broken away from its fossil-fuel dependence yet, but its renewable-energy expansion is increasingly changing the balance.