Stimulus
China Tries to Have It Both Ways With Virus Recovery
The country announced a slate of climate-friendly stimulus priorities, but has also loosened coal regulations.
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After the 2008 financial crisis, China poured 4 trillion yuan ($560 billion) into new airports, train stations, and roads—all carbon-intensive projects that looked forward to a carbon-intensive future.
In the ensuing decade, President Xi Jinping has tried to stake out a position as a global leader on climate change. By the end of 2020, China was supposed to have started weaning itself off coal, built up its solar and wind infrastructure, cleaned its air, and made electric vehicles an everyday sight. It was either on track to meet or had already met most of its 2020 climate goals before the pandemic.