Paper short abstract:

Two trends are notable in green energy transition, rising protectionism and expansion of global production networks. We use Chinese wind and solar MNCs' activity in Africa as case to illustrate how companies are exploiting various strategies to adapt to the different systems.

Paper long abstract:

The fast growing green energy technologies and their worldwide deployment has profound impact on the political economy of the green transformation. On the one hand, there is a rising state protectionism among nearly all the renewable energy super powers (the US, China, the EU, Indian, Japan, etc.) as countries trying to deter foreign competitors in their domestic market in the hope of nurturing national champions on green energy technology. Consequently, increasing number of trade disputes can be noted around solar panels and wind turbines among these countries (Lewis, 2014). On the other hand, renewable multinational corporations (R-MNCs) from these nations dominate different parts of value chain, and are found collaborating actively in exploring overseas market according to their comparative advantages, as manufacturer, technology supplier, or project developer. There is notable coexistence of the global 'green race' and division of labour (Lachapelle et al, 2017). The world of clean development can be therefore largely grouped into highly protective markets dominated by domestic actors and highly open market with dominated by renewable MNC's global production networks.

What implications can be drawn from this due system? In particular, what is the role of emergent market MNCs in the renewable sectors in shaping and adapting to this state-led protectionist or market-led competitive (collaborative) markets? In this research I will use Chinese wind and solar R-MNC's strategy in African markets as an example to illustrate how these companies exploit both state protectionist policies and global production networks to nurture its competitive advantage.