China and the UAE forge a clean energy partnership to accelerate solar and battery projects in Asia, Africa and Latin America

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The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and China are collaborating on an increasing number of renewable energy projects across Asia, Africa, and Latin America. In this partnership model, UAE companies provide funding and project development support, while Chinese firms supply equipment, technology, and construction services. 

In late 2025, UAE-based Global South Utilities began two 50 MW solar projects in the Central African Republic and Madagascar using Chinese technology. In early 2026, Abu Dhabi’s Masdar agreed to build and operate the 300 MW Guzar solar project and battery storage in Uzbekistan, incorporating Chinese solar panels and battery systems. 

Masdar is exploring similar projects in Argentina, Costa Rica and Chile with local state-owned energy partners. Chinese suppliers are expected to supply equipment and support project delivery. 

This China-UAE cooperation is likely to accelerate as global energy markets stay unstable after the US-Israeli tension on Iran. Governments in the Global South are pushing to diversify into renewables. This is expected to create new opportunities for emerging players. The pattern began after pandemic-related energy disruptions and is expected to speed up with current market volatility. 

Renewable energy now supplies about one-third of global electricity, while fossil fuels provide nearly 60 per cent and nuclear about 9 per cent. Renewables account for roughly three-quarters of the annual increase in electricity generation worldwide. 

Renewables’ rise is mainly economic. Hybrid solar‑wind systems with batteries now compete with coal and gas on cost, and with financing they make financial sense. Geopolitical shocks like the sanctions on Russia to disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz have sped the shift by hitting oil and gas supplies. Governments’ responses are mixed: some boost coal and subsidies for short-term security, while others accelerate renewables. 

China is the world’s biggest supplier of renewable equipment. It makes about 80 to 90 per cent of global solar PV capacity and supplies roughly 78 per cent of the wind-turbine market. China is also a major producer of lithium-ion batteries and a leading processor of rare earth elements and other critical minerals used in clean energy technologies.

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A decade of investment has helped reduce solar panel and battery production costs by about 90 per cent, making renewable energy projects more affordable in many markets.

As trade barriers and geopolitical tensions create challenges for some Chinese companies operating overseas, partnerships with Gulf-based developers such as Masdar, AMEA Power and Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power are becoming increasingly important. In these arrangements, Gulf companies lead financing and project development, while Chinese firms provide equipment and engineering support.

Masdar has secured several renewable energy projects by offering highly competitive electricity tariffs. The company has won projects in countries including Uzbekistan and Indonesia and has also recorded a low solar tariff in Côte d’Ivoire through a joint venture.

The report notes that cooperation between Chinese suppliers and Gulf energy developers is becoming an increasingly visible feature of renewable energy development across developing economies, with projects continuing to expand across Asia, Africa and Latin America.