Africa

Local indigenous greens grow in popularity despite a ban on farmers swapping or selling seeds.

Paul Biya is the world's oldest president and wants to show he is on the pulse, but many are not convinced.

Paul Biya is the world's oldest president and wants to show he is on the pulse, but many are not convinced.

South Africa will face Nigeria in the last four of Wafcon 2024 after beating Senegal 4-1 on penalties following a goalless quarter-final in Oudja.

Cynthia Konlan saves two penalties as Ghana beat Algeria 4-2 on penalties in the quarter-finals of the 2024 Women's Africa Cup of Nations.

Zimbabwe qualify for their first Rugby World Cup since 1991 as they beat Namibia 30-28 to lift the Rugby Africa Cup.

Zimbabwe qualify for their first Rugby World Cup since 1991 as they beat Namibia 30-28 to lift the Rugby Africa Cup.

Workers reported feeling vibrations in the partially built structure, and being told to cover up holes with sand.

The declaration says both parties must sign a final peace deal by mid-August.

Mkhwanazi's explosive claims have resulted in a suspension and the launch of two inquiries.

Mkhwanazi's explosive claims have resulted in a suspension and the launch of two inquiries.

Mkhwanazi's explosive claims have resulted in a suspension and the launch of two inquiries.

Ibtissam Jraidi's double helps the Atlas Lionesses to a 3-1 win, setting up a last-four meeting against either Algeria or Ghana at the Women's Africa Cup of Nations.

The General Assembly’s Plenary meeting on Nelson Mandela International Day. Credit: Jennifer Xin-Tsu Lin Levine/IPS

By Jennifer Xin-Tsu Lin Levine
UNITED NATIONS, Jul 18 2025 (IPS)

The United Nations celebrated Nelson Mandela International Day in honor of the activist and politician’s lifelong commitment to peace and democracy.

At the 16th celebration of Nelson Mandela International Day, delegates, representatives and visitors alike reflected on the impact of South Africa’s first black president and leader in a fully representative democratic election.

The activist and politician, who spent 27 years in prison, was a staunch freedom fighter—arguing that freedom was not only an individual mission but also a collective responsibility and communal effort.

These principles were enshrined in the Nelson Mandela Rules, officially called the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, a document protecting humane treatment of individuals without liberty. The document emphasizes respect for human dignity, prohibits torture and promotes fair and just conditions.

Although the Nelson Mandela Rules are “soft law” and not legally binding, the General Assembly has adopted them as universally agreed minimum standards. Many countries have incorporated the rules into domestic law, but many others have violated conditions of healthcare, solitary confinement and ethical working rights. Delegates and various speakers agreed that there was still much work to be done.

Nelson Mandela International Day, established in 2009 by the United Nations General Assembly and officially celebrated in 2010 on July 18th (President Mandela’s birthday), is a holiday encouraging all citizens around the world to engage positively in their communities.

Dr. Naledi Pandor, chair of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, addresses the UN General Assembly Plenary on Nelson Mandela International Day. Credit: Jennifer Xin-Tsu Lin Levin/IPS

From annual volunteer events to the annual Mandela Prize, awarded to two laureates each year who have profoundly impacted their communities by serving humanity, speakers, including the award recipients, the Secretary-General and the chair of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, all reflected on Mandela’s legacy on their own lives and on the UN.

In Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the General Assembly at their plenary meeting, he said, “Power is not a personal possession to be harbored. Power is about lifting others up; it’s about what we can achieve with one another and for one another. Power is about people.” He echoed Mandela’s belief in collective grassroots action to deliver power to the powerless, encouraging member states to bring these principles into practice.

Dr. Naledi Pandor, chair of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, similarly called for action against injustice and inequality. She recalled how the United Nations aided South Africa in ending apartheid as it “stood against apartheid domination, not through arms but through bringing its undeniable moral weight into combat against injustice. That boldness, that courage is needed more and more today.”

Nelson Mandela, then Deputy President of the African National Congress of South Africa, raises his fist in the air while addressing the Special Committee Against Apartheid in the General Assembly Hall, June 22, 1990. Credit: UN Photo/Pernaca Sudhakaran

Pandor went on to recall Mandela’s political views beyond South Africa—his demand for global equity extended to all, and reflecting on how he might feel about the current state of the world, she quoted his 1990 speech to the UN Special Committee Against Apartheid.

Mandela said, “We also take this opportunity to extend warm greetings to all others who fight for their liberation and their human rights, including the peoples of Palestine and Western Sahara. We commend their struggles to you, convinced that we are all moved by the fact that freedom is indivisible, convinced that the denial of the rights of one diminishes the freedom of others.”

Mandela was a strong supporter of Palestine, often comparing its struggle with South Africa’s. South Africa, even after his death, maintained close ties to Palestine and brought the case of genocide against Israel to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 2024.

The 2025 Nelson Mandela laureates, Brenda Reynolds of Saulteaux First Nation and Canada and Kennedy Odede of Kenya, both spoke about how Mandela inspired their respective work. Reynolds, a social worker by trade, led the establishment of a national, culturally grounded mental health initiative for survivors of Indian residential schools.

Reynolds described her work with survivors as an example of Mandela’s notion of moving forward from resentment towards progress—as people found peace with their experiences, they were able to recover and lift up their communities from oppression. She described this as a process of peacebuilding within people, saying, “peace begins with individuals, and from there, you can find peace within your family and within your communities.”

Odede, who founded Kenya’s largest grassroots movement, Shining Hope For Communities (SHOFCO), to empower struggling urban communities, shared how Mandela’s words and experience with struggle inspired him to build within his own life. He found creative ways to organize communities around simple things like soccer, providing hope to people in dire situations.

The representative for The Gambia, who spoke on behalf of the African states, called upon the UN to adhere to Mandela’s principles, particularly on poverty as a man-made horror that can and must be removed by actions of human beings. The representative warned of extreme poverty on the rise, centering the “developing countries and middle-income countries” suffering the most “with unemployment rates beyond records.”

He said, “It is time for solidarity, partnerships and genuine actions where they are most needed,” asserting that poverty and underdevelopment were huge perpetuators of racism, therefore continuing a vicious cycle that oppressed people.

The representative argued, “rising inequity and progressive discrimination are not inevitable; they are a result of decades of policies and dynamics emanating from colonialism, appetite, and discrimination.” Criticizing these practices as misaligned with the UN charter, he pushed the UN to renew their commitment to progressing social development by redistributing wealth.

As the world commemorates Nelson Mandela’s enduring legacy, the message resonating from this year’s observance is clear: his vision of freedom—rooted in dignity, justice and collective responsibility—demands more than remembrance; it requires action. From prison reform to poverty alleviation to indigenous healing to grassroots empowerment, Mandela’s ideals continue to challenge the global community to uphold humanity over power and compassion over indifference. In honoring his life, the UN and its member states are reminded that freedom is not static—it is a continual struggle, a shared pursuit and a moral obligation.

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

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Excerpt:

For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others. - Nelson Mandela

Nigeria put in a sublime performance to beat Zambia 5-0 and reach the semi-finals at the 2024 Women's Africa Cup of Nations.

Microsoft offices in Vancouver, Canada. Credit Unsplash/Matthew Manuel

By Maximilian Malawista
NEW YORK, Jul 18 2025 (IPS)

“The power of AI carries immense responsibilities. Today, that power sits in the hands of a few,” said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at the 2025 AI Action Summit, reflecting on a deepening reality as we inch closer to a world in complete digital domination. Today, seven of the world’s top ten most valuable companies are digital giants, focusing primarily on the output of communication, digital manufacturing, artificial intelligence and digital commerce, which is paving the way for a fully digitized life for all.

The top 10 companies include some of the biggest names in information technology and digital commerce:

NVIDIA: 4.002 trillion USD | Information Technology
Microsoft: 3.727 trillion USD | Information Technology
Apple: 3.172 trillion USD | Information Technology
Amazon: 2.359 trillion USD | Consumer Discretionary
Alphabet (Google): 2.161 trillion USD | Communication Services
Meta Platforms (Facebook): 1.828 trillion USD | Communication Services
Saudi Aramco: 1.627 trillion USD | Energy
Broadcom: 1.295 trillion USD | Information Technology
TSMC: 1.191 trillion USD | Information Technology
Berkshire Hathaway: 1.032 trillion USD | Consumer Discretionary

These companies actively reshape nearly every aspect of life, from showing you an ad for the brand-new phone you have been eyeing, to manufacturing the chip inside that very phone, and even delivering it to your doorstep. They are all connected and can be done from a single click of the screen.

Some of these firms have a near-digital monopoly on all aspects of the digital economy. Take Microsoft for example:

E-Commerce and digital payment: Microsoft.com
Digital content and distribution: Xbox Game Pass, Windows Store, Microsoft Store
Social media: Teams, LinkedIn
Online search: Bing
Online Advertising: Bing, Microsoft, LinkedIn Ads
Cloud Services: Azure, Microsoft 365
AI Models: Copilot

Your entire life can be run from one of these services, from finding your local market for groceries, to buying a new laptop for work, to storing your sensitive data, creating visualizations for that new project you’re working on, or even purchasing a video game. It’s all done from one company spread across a few platforms.

Market limitations amid consolidation

The vertical and horizontal consolidation of digital supply chains has made it nearly impossible for new companies to break into just about any of these markets. A lack of competition ultimately fuels higher prices, lower quality, and weakened privacy protection for the consumer.

Consumers often unknowingly support and reinforce this system. If they rely on Google across all their devices, it creates a cycle which lacks digital diversity, increasing the difficulty for smaller entities to innovate and break into the market.

By design, digital ecosystems keep users within the limits of a single company’s platforms, making it easy for the user to move from service to service, but at the hidden cost of freely giving up your data.

Advertising plays a vital role in this campaign for dominance. 97.6 percent of Meta’s revenue and 75.6 percent of Google’s comes just from ads. Just by being on their platforms you’re generating billions of dollars, without paying a single cent for use.

Unchecked growth

From 2020 to 2024, digital multinationals enterprises (MNEs) accounted for one-third of all greenfield data center projects, initiatives built entirely from the ground up. Logistic projects in contrast only accounted for 10 percent. This displays just how massively the digital world is expanding, fueled by investments in immersive online environments where users are increasingly spending money on non-physical assets, creating endless revenues streams out of thin air.

In China, the concentration of digital markets is comparatively extreme than in other countries, given that certain American applications do not work there. A handful of firms — Alibaba, Tencent and ByteDance — control the population’s entire digital ecosystem. As the second-most populous country in the world, this is no small feat. WeChat alone is used by 95 percent of their population, centralizing social media, messaging, payments, and e-commerce into one platform. This means that competition effectively does not exist.

From 2017 to 2025, the combined share of sales between the top five digital MNEs doubled from 21 percent to 48 percent, displaying immense growth in a merely eight-year period. This trend was also observed within asset concentration, where the top five digital firms doubled from 17 percent to now 35 percent during that same period

Artificial Intelligence (AI) consolidation

As digital markets surge, so does dominance in the AI value chain. Just two companies, Microsoft and Alphabet, control 78 percent of AI development from start to finish, largely through their partnerships with startups like OpenAI and Anthropic. This allows them to virtually own every link in the chain, from data collection to model training and deployment, to application.

Generative AI requires massive capital, but also computing power, cloud services, AI chips, talent, and most importantly, data, which only the tech giants control. There is hardly, if any room for smaller firms to compete. This dynamic has shown to have serious market limiting implications, as AI will become necessary to digital expansion.

As UN Secretary General António Guterres warned at the 79th General Assembly in 2024, “A handful of companies and even individuals have already amassed enormous power over the development of AI – with little accountability or oversight for the moment.”

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

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Georgios Gerapetritis, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Hellenic Republic, addresses the Security Council meeting on the situation in Syria. Credit: UN Photo/Mark Garten

By Oritro Karim
UNITED NATIONS, Jul 18 2025 (IPS)

Over the past week, the humanitarian situation in Syria has significantly deteriorated, with tensions between the Druze religious minority and the Syrian military reaching new peaks. On July 16, Israel launched a series of powerful airstrikes on Syria’s capital city, Damascus, in defense of Syria’s Druze population, further spurring regional instability and exacerbating the dire scale of needs.

Since the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, the security situation for Druze Syrians has been particularly volatile, with hostilities escalating between late April and early May. Clashes between the Druze communities and the Syrian military resulted in numerous extrajudicial killings of Druze civilians.

From July 11 to 16, violent altercations between the Druze and Bedoulin communities erupted in Suwayda and spread to neighboring cities, resulting in the Syrian transitional government deploying its military to restore order. According to figures from the Syrian observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), clashes between the Syrian military and the two minority groups resulted in over 200 deaths.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) adds that residents in Suwayda reported a litany of human rights violations, including extrajudicial killings, burning of civilian infrastructures, lootings, abductions, and incitement to violence.

OCHA spokesperson Eri Kaneko informed IPS that prior to Israel’s bombardment of Syria, roughly 300,000 civilians were in dire need of humanitarian assistance, roughly two-thirds of the nation’s population. Due to heightened insecurity, OCHA and its partners have been unable to assess the severity of the situation from the ground, or deliver humanitarian assistance.

On July 17, Israel launched a series of airstrikes on Damascus, as well as the Suwayda and Dorra governorates, with one of them targeting Syria’s Defense Ministry Headquarters and the vicinity of the Presidential Palace. According to Syria’s Ministry of Health, the attack resulted in at least 3 civilian deaths and 34 injuries, as well as significant damage to surrounding civilian infrastructures.

United Nations (UN) Secretary-General António Guterres condemned Israel’s “escalatory” airstrikes and called for an immediate de-escalation of hostilities. He added that Syria’s sovereignty must be respected, and that there must be an orderly political transition to ensure lasting peace.

According to figures from OCHA, nearly 2,000 families have been displaced from Suwayda following Israel’s bombardment, with most migrating to the Salkhad district. These communities face an overwhelming lack of access to basic services, such as food, water, and healthcare.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), only 57 percent of hospitals and 37 percent of primary healthcare centers are fully functional. UN deputy relief chief Joyce Msuya adds that millions of Syrians urgently require medical assistance, with injuries from unexploded ordnance, cholera, and food insecurity running rampant.

UN Spokesperson for the Secretary-General Stéphane Dujarric added that aid workers have faced worsened access constraints due to insecurity and road closures. On July 17, WHO announced that it had dispatched 35 trauma and emergency surgery kits to assist in roughly 1,750 medical interventions. However, the majority of these supplies were halted from reaching Syrian healthcare facilities.

“Syria simply cannot withstand another wave of instability,” said UN Deputy Special Envoy to Syria Najat Rochdi. “The risks of further escalation in the region are not hypothetical – they are immediate, severe, and risk unraveling the fragile progress toward peace and recovery in Syria.”

In a statement shared to X (formerly known as Twitter), Syria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the attack in the “harshest terms”, citing its impact on civilian’s access to public services and violations of international humanitarian law

“This flagrant assault, which forms part of a deliberate policy pursued by the Israeli entity to inflame tensions, spread chaos and undermine security and stability in Syria, constitutes a blatant violation of the United Nations Charter and international humanitarian law.” The Foreign Ministry added that Syria retains its right to defend itself.

Following Israel’s strikes on Damascus, the Israeli government warned that it would scale up its attacks if Syrian militants did not retreat from Suwayda, which borders the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. “We are acting to prevent the Syrian regime from harming the Druze and to ensure the demilitarization of the area adjacent to our border with Syria,” said Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz in a statement shared to X.

Shortly after the attacks, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio informed reporters that the fighting parties had agreed on a ceasefire, with Syrian militants beginning to retreat from Suwayda. Despite Rubio’s belief that the hostilities were headed “towards a real de-escalation”, humanitarian experts have expressed concern over the broader implications of Israel’s intervention in Syria and the wider Middle East.

“Israel’s strikes on Damascus targets reverberated around the region,” said Mona Yacoubian and Will Todman of the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS).

“Many Middle Eastern states fear that ongoing U.S. support for Israel is allowing it to establish itself as the regional hegemon, with an ability to conduct strikes across the region with impunity. These fears have pushed Arab Gulf states to maintain ties with Iran to hedge against Israel’s influence.”

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

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Nigerian police officer Juliet Ukah will make history when the Professional Fighters League holds its first event in Africa.

The Cauchari Solar Plant in Jujuy, Argentina, located 4,000 meters above sea level with over one million panels, was built with Chinese capital, engineering, and materials. Credit: Casa Rosada

By Humberto Márquez
CARACAS, Jul 18 2025 (IPS)

China, with its investments, products, technology, and innovation focused on solar and wind farms in Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as on electricity networks and services, stands out as a driving force for the region’s shift toward energy less reliant on fossil fuels and increasingly cleaner and greener. 

Between 2010 and 2024, China invested US$33.69 billion in renewables in the region, with 70 transactions for as many projects, 54 of which were in non-hydroelectric energy, totaling US$13.138 billion.

These figures alone “highlight China’s importance in supporting the region’s energy transition, both through investments and infrastructure projects,” Enrique Dussel Peters, coordinator of the Latin America and the Caribbean Academic Network on China (RedALC-China), told IPS from Mexico City.“For China, Latin America as a whole is a market that geographically presents many opportunities; first, due to the availability of natural resources, which include critical minerals, and features such as access to water and natural and renewable energy sources”: Ana Lía Rojas.

Beyond money, China “has the capacity to develop technology, implement it, and scale it at the required speed,” said Ana Lia Rojas, executive director of the Chilean Association of Renewable Energies and Storage (Acera).

In a dialogue with IPS in Santiago, Chile, Rojas cited American economist Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University and a United Nations advisor, who has argued that, in short, “the energy transition is Chinese.”

Sachs views China as a “leader in key technologies that will be essential over the next 25 years: photovoltaics, wind, modular nuclear, long-distance energy transmission, 5G (now 5.5G), batteries, electric vehicles, and others.”

The movement toward Latin America has been relentless. While there were no Chinese investments in renewable energy in the region between 2000 and 2009, eight emerged from 2010 to 2014, totaling US$3.298 billion and generating 6,000 jobs, according to RedALC’s Investment Monitor.

Between 2015 and 2019, 25 projects with Chinese financing materialized, totaling US$19.568 billion and creating 9,300 jobs. In the 2020-2024 period, 37 transactions were completed, amounting to US$10.824 billion and generating 15,000 jobs.

Investment volumes dipped in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. However, a revealing contrast emerged: 35 of the 37 renewable energy transactions during this five-year period went to non-hydroelectric projects.

The Lagoinha Solar Complex, inaugurated in July this year and owned by the Brazilian subsidiary of Chinese group CGN. Spanning 304 hectares in Ceará state, northeastern Brazil, it features 337,000 panels that will provide electricity to 240,000 households. Credit: Government of Ceará

 

Interests and challenges converge

The International Energy Agency (IEA, representing major industrialized consumers) reports a “soaring increase in Chinese clean energy investments globally, particularly in renewables,” surpassing US$625 billion in 2024—nearly double 2015 levels and accounting for 30% of the world’s total, cementing China’s leadership.

Traditionally dominated by state-owned enterprises backed by public funding, China’s energy investment landscape is shifting, with the government increasingly encouraging private sector participation.

Meanwhile, Latin America and the Caribbean saw roughly US$70 billion invested in renewables from 2015 to 2024, of which over US$30.3 billion (43%) came from China, according to the IEA.

Yet the agency notes that despite steady growth in renewable investments, the region represents just 5% of global privately funded clean energy investment—a reflection of high interest rates, scarce long-term financing, and costly public debt.

This highlights the intersection between the region’s needs and challenges and what Dussel Peters describes as China’s strategic focus on technological development and disruptive innovations, from nanomanufacturing to aerospace, including new energy sources.

Chinese investment in renewables “delivers multiple benefits by advancing energy sustainability, supporting the transition to a low-carbon grid, providing critical technology, and creating skilled jobs,” Chilean academic Rodrigo Cáceres told IPS in Santiago.

A researcher at  Diego Portales University’s Center for Energy and Sustainable Development, Cáceres observes China’s “sustained commitment” in areas like energy storage, smart grids, and green hydrogen, framing the China-Latin America relationship as “strategic and long-term.”

A key factor enabling this enduring partnership is the vast territorial, demographic, and resource potential Latin America and the Caribbean offers China. “If we look at the per capita income we have in the region and compare it with China’s, we have more or less the same. But Latin America has half the population of China and twice the territory of China,” observed Rojas.

Twice the territory “means that projects can be deployed differently than in the rest of the world,” noted the director of Acera.

According to Rojas, “it is evident that, for China, Latin America as a whole is a market that geographically presents many opportunities; first, due to the availability of natural resources, which include critical minerals, and features such as access to water and natural and renewable energy sources.”

“Second, because it is clearly a less densely populated region, which provides a certain degree of flexibility or freedom to develop projects in the territory that will aid the energy transition, not only for local or national economies but for the world,”she said.

 

The Tanque Novo Wind Complex in Bahia, Brazil, developed by Chinese group CGN. It consists of seven parks with 40 wind turbines, an installed capacity of 180 MW, and can serve 430,000 residents. Credit: Tanque Novo

 

Brazil, a leading hub 

In Brazil, China’s presence in the electricity sector “is deep and strategic, the result of more than a decade of investments by large state-owned companies such as State Grid and China Three Gorges (CTG),” said Tulio Cariello, research director at the Brazil-China Business Council.

“In fact, it has become the main destination for these companies’ assets outside China. Both State Grid and CTG have the majority of their international investments in Brazil, reflecting the country’s structural importance in their global projection,” Cariello told IPS in Rio de Janeiro.

State Grid is now a major electricity transmission operator in Brazil, and its massive entry into that market was solidified with the acquisition in 2016-2018 of CPFL Energia (formerly Companhia Paulista de Força e Luz), one of the country’s leading power distribution companies.

Another flagship project led by State Grid was the construction of ultra-high-voltage transmission systems, connecting the Belo Monte hydroelectric plant in the Amazon (11,200 MW) with the Southeast region, which has the highest electricity demand.

Combined, solar and wind energy sources account for a quarter of Brazil’s electricity matrix, according to its National Energy Balance.

By the end of 2024, Brazil’s installed wind power capacity—over 16% of the national electricity matrix—reached 33.7 gigawatts, with 1,103 wind farms and 11,720 wind turbines. By 2032, cumulative new installed capacity is projected to reach 56 GW.

Chinese wind turbine manufacturer Goldwind established its first factory outside China last year in Bahia, in Brazil’s Northeast, with an investment of over US$20 million to produce 150 turbines annually, ranging from 5.3 MW to 7.5 MW. This decision demonstrates strong confidence in the Brazilian market.

The volume of Chinese investment in Brazil between 2007 and 2023 reached US$73.3 billion—US$33.2 billion in the electricity sector—with 264 confirmed projects, and is on track to reach US$123.2 billion with 342 projects.

Regarding the impact of investments in renewable energy, “it can be seen on several fronts: increased generation and transmission capacity, modernization of critical infrastructure, greater stability in power supply, and job creation and technology transfer,” said Cariello.

The Los Cururos Wind Farm in Ovalle, Chile, is one of dozens of installations generating electricity in Chile thanks to the constant winds in this Pacific-facing region. Credit: Orlando Milesi / IPS

 

Advancing Across the Regional Map 

In Argentina, with initial financing of US$390 million from the China Export-Import Bank (Chexim), construction began in 2018 on the Cauchari solar park—one of the largest in Latin America—in the northwestern province of Jujuy.

Some 4,000 meters above sea level and equipped with 1.2 million panels, Cauchari has an installed capacity of 315 MW (with an expansion planned to add another 200 MWh) and reduces carbon emissions by 325,000 tons.

There are other solar developments with Chinese involvement, while Goldwind has acquired wind farms in the central province of Buenos Aires and the southern province of Chubut.

Researcher Juliana González Jáuregui from the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (Flacso) has highlighted Beijing’s participation in Argentina’s renewable energy projects, focusing on its provinces—even before the country joined China’s Belt and Road Initiative in 2022.

In contrast, “Europe and the United States have yet to grasp the importance of engaging at the subnational level in Argentina, something China achieved quickly and significantly. The provinces hold natural resources, so the subnational component is essential,” González told Dialogue Earth.

Meanwhile, in Chile, “what has happened in the last two years is that Chinese companies have bet on the country as a gateway to Latin America and have set up several companies that create jobs,” said Rojas.

“They are interested in showcasing the quality and technological advancements they’ve achieved in these sectors, focusing on storage, inverter systems, and everything that helps stabilize power grid flows,” she stated.

In this way, China “has increasingly strengthened its presence in the electricity sector, where we have decarbonization efforts and which represents 22% of the country’s energy consumption,” particularly in the distribution segment through the acquisition of key companies to supply the population, explained Rojas.

A notable example is the Chinese group State Grid, which in 2020 acquired Chile’s Compañía General de Electricidad (CGE) from Spain’s Naturgy for US$3 billion and purchased Chilquinta, another electricity distributor in Chile, from the American company Sempra Energy for US$2.23 billion.

Additionally, it holds a stake in Transelec, the largest distributor, giving it a dominant majority position in Chile’s electricity distribution market.

 

Areas of Lima illuminated by the growing integration of renewable energy into electricity generation. The former Enel Perú, now Pluz Perú, was acquired by China’s CSG and serves over 1.5 million subscribers in the metropolitan area. Credit: Perú Inkas Tours

 

In Peru, China Southern Power Grid (CSG) acquired Enel Peru from Italy’s Enel Group in 2024 for US$3.1 billion. The company, now called Pluz Peru, operates in the market with 1,590 MW of generation from various sources and also participates in distribution.

The Peruvian firm includes a solar complex in the southern municipality of Moquegua, with 560,000 panels spread over 400 hectares, capable of generating 440 GWh annually, and a wind farm in the southwestern province of Nazca, with 42 turbines producing up to 600 GWh per year.

In Colombia, another Chinese giant, CTG, promoted the construction of the Baranoa solar plant in the northern department of Atlantico. With an investment of US$20 million and 36,000 modules, it can add 20 MW to the grid.

Though a small project far from major economic and urban centers, it reflects shared interests with Colombia, where President Gustavo Petro champions renewable energy and the decarbonization of the economy and society.

In Nicaragua, it was announced that China Communications Construction Company will build a 70 MW solar plant in the municipality of Nindirí, south of Managua, with 112,700 panels at a cost of US$80 million.

The Managua government—which recently restored relations with China in 2021 after cutting ties with Taiwan—hopes the project will not only feed into the power grid but also support drinking water supply and sanitation in the country.

In a leap across the Caribbean, China’s International Development Cooperation Agency delivered a batch of donated supplies to Cuba last March to support a photovoltaic park project with Chinese assistance in Guanajay, about 50 kilometers west of Havana.

According to data gathered by IPS in Havana, the project includes seven solar parks and will contribute 35 MW to the island’s electricity system. The remaining parks, to be developed by China’s Shanghái Electric and Cuba’s Unión Eléctrica, will add another 85 MW. Cuba’s power demand stands at 3,500 MW, with a deficit sometimes exceeding 1,500 MW.

“We hope to leverage this project as an opportunity to contribute China’s strength in ensuring energy security and promoting sustainable social development in Cuba,” said Hua Xin, China’s ambassador in Havana.

 

A production gondola at the new wind turbine factory in Camaçari, northeastern Brazil, installed by Chinese firm Goldwind. Wind energy is the second-largest renewable source in Brazil’s electricity supply, after hydropower. Credit: Goldwind

 

The Ball on the Roof 

Chilean expert Rojas noted that Chinese companies obviously aim to promote their own brands but also establish research centers or technology transfer hubs to help countries accelerate their energy transition.

“They have cutting-edge technologies that we currently see in PowerPoint presentations—but they’re already implementing them in their own cities,” she pointed out.

Experts agree that, alongside territorial potential, population, and resources, the regulatory framework of the electricity business—which varies across borders—is a key investment attraction.

This becomes even more relevant as major investors like China shift from merely selling products and technology to acquiring more assets, immersing themselves in the complexities of service networks, costs, and pricing.

For many countries in the region, the observation Jorge Arbache, an economics professor at the University of Brasilia, makes about Brazil may resonate. He analyzes how the advantages and resources enabling the energy transition are being mobilized.

He argues that “while China has used the energy transition as a pillar of its national development policy,” Brazil still treats its advantages “mainly as primary, short-term, and predatory assets—with low added value, institutional fragmentation, and a lack of coordinated strategy.”

“What China shows us is that the energy transition and natural capital, when well-coordinated, are more than just a shift in the energy matrix: they are a development strategy, a tool for sovereignty, and a source of geopolitical power,” concluded Arbache.

With reporting by Mario Osava (Brazil), Orlando Milesi (Chile) and Dariel Pradas (Cuba).

Khaled Mohamed Ali El Hishri is accused of murder, torture and rape at a prison in Tripoli.