China’s clean-technology expansion is moving beyond the export of individual batteries, solar modules and wind turbines. CATL’s investments and the latest Belt and Road financing data point to a wider model combining equipment, power electronics, project development, digital systems and capital.
CATL controls about 40% of the global EV battery market, which generated approximately three-quarters of its $61.4 billion in annual sales. It has also captured roughly 30% of the battery energy-storage-system market, positioning itself at the centre of both transport electrification and grid flexibility.
The company is expanding into ports, factories, mines, buildings, data centres, aircraft and vessels. Its batteries are already deployed on close to 1,000 ships, mostly operating in Chinese coastal and inland waters. CATL has also invested in battery-swapping networks for cars, trucks and potentially marine transport.
Its corporate reach is substantial. CATL has made direct investments in 152 entities and indirect investments in more than 9,900 businesses. It spent close to $1 billion for a 38% stake in data-centre operator VNET and built a 49% holding in Zhongheng Electric, a supplier of high-voltage direct-current power systems.
These investments show that the company does not intend to remain a cell supplier. It is moving towards system integration, where battery chemistry, containers, cooling, control software, power conversion and the customer’s electrical infrastructure are designed as one platform. Sodium-ion battery mass production could extend that reach into applications where cost and resource availability matter more than maximum energy density.
The financing channel is expanding at the same time. China’s Belt and Road Initiative recorded $20.1 billion of green-energy transactions in the first half of 2026, already exceeding the full-year 2025 total. The figure included $11.8 billion of construction projects and $8.3 billion of investments. Total Belt and Road activity reached $126.3 billion.
Private companies accounted for 48% of engagement, compared with only 13% in 2022, indicating a shift from politically directed state projects towards more commercially driven expansion. Chinese investment in Africa almost tripled to $33.5 billion during the first half.
The emerging offer is powerful because it bundles several capabilities. A host country can receive Chinese equipment, engineering, construction, financing and long-term operation within one commercial ecosystem. The lower capital cost and faster execution can be attractive to markets dealing with high imported-fuel prices and rapid electricity-demand growth.
For Europe and Southeast Europe, the model creates both opportunity and dependency. Chinese battery systems can accelerate storage deployment and reduce project CAPEX. Chinese capital can support projects that struggle to attract Western financing. At the same time, concentration in equipment, software, data control and maintenance creates long-term supply-chain and cybersecurity questions.
Procurement decisions will increasingly consider more than initial price. Grid operators and lenders need performance guarantees, degradation curves, fire-safety evidence, data-access rules, spare-parts commitments and clear liability across the full operating life. Industrial customers will also need confidence that systems comply with European grid codes and cybersecurity standards.
China’s competitive advantage no longer rests solely on cheap manufacturing. It is exporting integrated electricity platforms. Western companies competing component by component may find themselves facing a commercial system designed to capture value from project financing through decades of operation.
