Redefining Models for Global Green Cooperation: Lessons from China’s Emerging Partnerships

By Mengdi Yue

As climate, biodiversity and pollution crises intensify, the call for green transformation has become universal. Yet while the urgency is clear, how countries cooperate to achieve it is still evolving. Understanding the how is becoming essential as countries search for practical decarbonization pathways.

A new special policy study published by the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED) explores how the next generation of partnerships can drive inclusive, low-carbon growth. Traditional cooperation models have often focused on financing infrastructure or commodity trade. But as the study highlights, countries of the Global South are now active partners in shaping a new model of collaboration. Rather than passively receiving technology or funding, they are co-designing solutions, from clean industry and digital monitoring to green finance.

These shifts are already becoming visible in real partnerships across the Global South. China’s emerging partnerships with Brazil, Indonesia and the Climate Vulnerable Twenty (V20) Group illustrate how this shift is taking shape. They each offer a distinct but complementary pathway toward greener development.

China-Brazil: From Commodities to Regenerative Growth

For decades, trade between China and Brazil has revolved around commodities like soybeans, iron ore and oil. Now both countries see an opportunity to build a greener, more diversified relationship focused on regenerative agriculture, sustainable trade and green industrialization. All of these aim to restore ecosystems while supporting long-term economic growth.

Collaborative projects are already exploring low-carbon agriculture and forest restoration, supported by joint research on traceability systems that ensure sustainable production. For example, Brazil and China are exploring the “Soy China” initiative to ensure soybean supply chain aligns with the environmental, social, and traceability criteria required by China. These efforts align with Brazil’s Ecological Transformation Plan and China’s expertise in digital monitoring and green supply chains.

There is also room for deeper industrial cooperation, particularly in renewable energy and electric mobility. Drawing on China’s experience in green industrial parks and supply chain integration, such partnerships could help expand Brazil’s clean energy industries while generating domestic employment and technology spillovers.

China-Indonesia: Financing a Just Energy Transition

A different kind of green partnership is emerging in Indonesia. This archipelagic country faces the challenge of phasing out coal while scaling up renewable energy. The study highlights the potential of a China-Indonesia Energy Transition Mechanism, an envisioned joint financing framework linking Indonesia’s Danantara Fund with Chinese development and commercial finance. The mechanism would support the early retirement of coal-fired power plants and redirect investment toward renewables, transmission and battery industries.

China’s experience in renewable manufacturing and green industrial parks could help Indonesia build domestic supply chains for solar panels, battery materials or nickel processing, ensuring that Indonesia’s rich resources feed sustainable industries rather than just raw exports.

China-V20: Turning Climate Risk into Opportunity

V20 countries are home to over 20 percent of the world’s population but only contribute 4 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. For them, climate vulnerability is less a matter of geography than a socio-economic condition. Heavy debt burdens and declining grant support have left many trapped in a cycle of financial and climate stress. This includes repeated losses from extreme storms, droughts and rising recovery costs.

Working with the V20 Group, the study proposes a China-V20 Climate Prosperity Partnership to support the implementation of national Climate Prosperity Plans (CPPs), which helps climate-vulnerable countries turn climate risks into bankable opportunities.

Such partnerships could combine debt relief with climate finance, using instruments like debt-for-climate swaps or sustainability-linked bonds to redirect fiscal resources toward green investment.

Unlocking Finance and Building Capacity

To strengthen implementation, the study recommends a green pre-feasibility study facility under multilateral or regional development banks. This would fund early-stage project design, support local capacity building and improve project pipelines in low- and middle-income countries.

It also calls for blended financing tools, like mixing concessional and private capital, to scale up investment while keeping borrowing affordable. Expanding the use of green and transition bonds can further mobilize global capital toward low-carbon industries, especially in the Global South.

Policy Recommendations

To accelerate global green transition, China can help shape a more connected and practical framework for cooperation:

First, launch a global green development initiative. Propose a “Global Green Development Initiative” to promote a “Borderless Green” model built on technology sharing, seamless financing and industrial synergy.

Second, create a green development cooperation fund. Establish a dedicated Green Development Cooperation Fund to channel capital into renewable energy and resilience projects, strengthening South-South cooperation and bridging financing gaps for emerging economies.

Third, align regional and global mechanisms. By linking regional efforts like the Belt and Road Initiative with global platforms such as the United Nations and G20, China can help develop more coherent rules and institutions for sustainable industries.

Last but not least, foster a tripartite green cooperation model. Facilitate a model led by government, driven by enterprises and supported by think tanks to ensure that policy design and implementation move in sync for more effective green partnerships.

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