Trump claims China only exports wind turbines, but what about its massive wind farms?

U.S. President Donald Trump claimed on Wednesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that China avoids using wind power domestically despite being the world's largest turbine manufacturer.

"China makes almost all of the windmills, and yet I haven't been able to find any wind farms in China," Trump said, arguing China sells the turbines abroad "for a fortune" while taking advantage of "stupid" buyers.

This claim is not only misleading but factually incorrect. Multiple international media outlets have noted that China is not only the largest producer of wind turbines but also the world's leading consumer of wind energy, with a rapidly growing and diversified network of wind farms both onshore and offshore.

False claim refuted by international media

Trump's assertion was quickly challenged by international media reports highlighting China's scale of wind power deployment.

"This claim is incorrect. China has more wind capacity than any other country and twice as much capacity under construction as the rest of the world combined," reported the Guardian on Wednesday.

Citing energy think tank Ember, the report said that China's wind generation in 2024 accounted for 40 percent of global wind generation, with the country constructing more wind and solar projects than the rest of the world combined.

E&E News added that China not only uses the turbines it builds, its wind capacity surpasses that of the U.S., which ranks second in global wind energy production.                           

"As a matter of fact, China has more wind and solar capacity than any other country in the world with twice as much capacity under construction than the rest of the world combined," Forbes reported in early January, when Trump reiterated his criticism of wind power while hosting energy executives at the White House. AFP similarly noted that China is the world's leading wind energy producer, with much of its turbine manufacturing aimed at meeting domestic demand.

Domestic expansive wind farm network

From remote desert regions in the north to densely populated coastal areas in the east, China's wind farms are integral to its energy strategy and dual carbon goals.

According to the National Energy Administration, by the end of November 2025 China's total installed power generation capacity reached 3.79 billion kilowatts, up 17.1 percent year on year. Wind power capacity alone exceeded 600 million kilowatts, growing by 22.4 percent compared to the previous year, maintaining China's position as the global leader in wind power capacity for 15 consecutive years.

In Alxa League, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, 108 new energy projects have been connected to the grid, with a total installed capacity of 13.51 million kilowatts, accounting for 89 percent of the region's total electricity capacity. The installed capacity of new energy sources has exceeded that of thermal power.

Northwest China's Gansu Province hosts one of the world's largest onshore wind farms, with a capacity of over 10 gigawatts. Since the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), the cumulative installed capacity of new energy sources in Gansu had increased by 40.67 million kilowatts, equivalent to building 1.8 Three Gorges Dam-sized hydroelectric plants.

Along with onshore wind farms, China has made substantial development in offshore wind energy.

According to the State Grid Corporation of China, the Yangtze River Delta region alone had surpassed 19 million kilowatts of offshore wind capacity by the end of 2025, making it the largest offshore wind power region in the country.

Jiangsu Province contributes the most, with an offshore wind capacity of 13.49 million kilowatts, ranking first in China. This amount of green electricity can provide more than 30 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually to the Yangtze River Delta, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by over 22 million tonnes.

Offshore wind power is a key pathway for the eastern coastal regions to achieve local power supply, said Cai Hui, senior expert at Jiangsu Electric Power's Economic and Technical Research Institute under the State Grid. "It works in synergy with the west-to-east power transmission program, effectively optimizing the energy distribution system."

In addition to the Yangtze River Delta, China's offshore wind power bases are also steadily being developed in regions like the Bohai Sea and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. By the end of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2025-2030) period, the country's total offshore wind capacity is expected to exceed 100 million kilowatts, providing a solid foundation for achieving its dual carbon goals.