China is purportedly trying to influence American energy policies through filing public comments as the Trump administration pursues its energy dominance agenda and axes burdensome regulations, some energy experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
The People’s Republic of China left at least three different public comments on Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule proposals that would cut or reform some stringent Biden-era regulations that energy policy experts have previously told the DCNF could devastate America’s power grid. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin proposed several deregulatory actions to bolster American energy while safeguarding human health and the environment, including rules China commented on in August.
“The Trump administration should be applauded for advancing energy dominance through reforms that cut red tape and reduce costs for American power producers,” Jason Isaac, CEO of the American Energy Institute, told the DCNF. “It’s laughable and revealing that the Chinese Communist Party felt compelled to oppose these common-sense changes, even submitting formal comments to the EPA urging the U.S. to tighten air rules on coal and keep subsidies for renewable fuels that China directly benefits from.”
EPA-HQ-OAR-2025-0124-0263_attachment_2 by audreystreb
“This is the same regime that burns more coal than the rest of the world combined, without the pollution controls that have made America a world leader in clean air,” Isaac continued. “Anyone opposing these reforms is, wittingly or not, aligning with China’s economic interests over America’s. Trump is right to put American energy first, and his critics should have to explain why they’re siding with the Chinese Communist Party over American energy and environmental excellence.”
China specifically urged the EPA to maintain its emissions rules for coal- and oil-fired power plants, keep greenhouse gas standards for fossil fuel plants in place and avoid creating barriers to foreign renewable fuel imports. The EPA introduced the three proposed rules to roll back strict Obama and Biden-era emissions standards and to update renewable fuel standards as part of “reducing reliance on foreign sources of oil,” according to the agency.
“The main proposal of this notification – to repeal all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions standards for fossil fuel-fired power plants- is neither reasonable nor feasible,” Jiao Yang, Deputy Director General for China’s World Trade Organization National Notification & Enquiry Center wrote to the EPA regarding the rules for power plant greenhouse gas emissions reform. “We do not support the alternatives described in the proposal. We cannot abolish the emission guidelines for existing fossil fuel steam power generation units.”
China leads the world in pollution, emitting 30% of the world’s greenhouse gasses. Notably, one 2021 study published in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS One indicates that Chinese officials may have continually underreported pollution levels in several major cities. While corporate media continues to note that China has been building out a multitude of wind and solar projects, the country also continues to boost coal production, according to multiple reports.
“The United States is the world’s largest historical greenhouse gas emitter,” Yang continued. “Greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. power industry are the second largest source of emissions after the transportation industry.”
The EPA has noted that some of these deregulatory moves to reform Obama and Biden-era rules on power plants could save Americans over a billion dollars a year. Former President Joe Biden’s power plant regulation plan was set to decimate the American power grid as it put mass amounts of strain on the energy industry, sector experts explained to the DCNF previously. Biden-era rules on power plants aimed to force all coal-fired plants and new natural gas plants to reduce their carbon emissions by 90% through carbon capture and sequestration technology within approximately 15 years to continue operating.
“It is recommended to consult the competent authority,” a spokesperson from the Chinese embassy told the DCNF. “I want to emphasize that China is always a staunch doer and important contributor to global green development. Working toward peaking carbon dioxide emissions and achieving carbon neutrality is our solemn commitment to the international community. China will work with all parties to actively respond to climate change and jointly protect Planet Earth that we all call home.”
Chinese coal is also notably “dirtier” than coal from the U.S., Diana Furchtgott-Roth, director of the Heritage Foundation’s Center for Energy, Climate and Environment, told the DCNF.
“Over the past 15 years US emissions have declined by about a billion metric tons, and Chinese emissions have increased by about 6 billion metric tons. We know whose emissions are increasing and it ain’t us,” Furchtgott-Roth said. “It’s completely in line with China’s national interests to make us dependent on China, to make us dependent on Chinese batteries, wind turbines and solar panels. They produce 70% of the world’s batteries, wind turbines and solar panels. So, it’s completely in line with their interest to comment negatively on what President Trump is doing, however, we are smart. We do not have to take Chinese comments into account.”
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