Verified answer

China has a big advantage in its current growth - they build a lot of new power stations because they need to. And they realize that global warming and other environmental concerns associated with heavy reliance on coal are a major problem, so they're shifting more towards renewables.

In the USA we seem to be heading backwards. Wind energy construction stalled with the economic downturn and lack of proper legislation. Now with a bunch of anti-science ant-environment pro-fossil fuel Republicans in office, it's hard to see us ramping up our renewable energy investments in the near future.

If we don't, China will eat our lunch. I read yesterday that 40% of the jobs that come from installing wind energy in the USA come from overseas, because we're importing so many wind turbines. American companies just can't keep up because we lack the legislation and political leadership to stay on top of the green tech revolution. Say what you will about China, but they see the writing on the wall, and are well on the way to leading the green tech wave.

Of course there are major problems with their political system, and of course we don't want to turn into China. But we don't have to become China to emulate their smart investing in green technology. Unfortunately Americans see blind patriotism as a positive thing. That's why so many Americans think our jacked up health care system is the best in the world. That's why when you compare China favorably to the US on any issue, so many will attack you for it. It's their blind patriotism kicking in. It's just another form of denial, and really it's unpatriotic, because pretending nothing is wrong with the country will prevent us from making the country better.

Our protection stress does not comprehend in the event that they might cope with china. some years in the past we almost have been given right into a war with them yet did no longer. i'm incredibly somewhat irritating approximately it yet i would be terrified if china invades us and we are disarmed we stand no threat. human beings overlook the yankee u . s . that stands immediately withthe superb protection stress is a rustic that rose out of a war in 1700s. Now that's the element. We had a small military of purely some 1000 troops. We have been against a rustic that had the final protection stress interior the international and we gained with purely somewhat success. at the instant the rustic that rose from a war has the creates protection stress interior the international and human beings are transforming into to be cocky approximately it. those human beings fail to realize the British did the comparable element and have been aposed and ended up loosing a war. The Spanish did the comparable element whilst that they had the final protection stress stress interior the international. each and every u . s . that has fallen from that became defeated by skill of an no longer likely enemy. The Spanish have been defeated by skill of the British who had a respected protection stress yet no longer the final. numerous worldwide places outdid them on the time. In turn the British have been defeated by skill of the yankee colonies on the height of British capability on a similar time as the human beings had the worst protection stress interior the international. That sent the British crashing down the place for a on a similar time as the hand tuned in Europe over the years. The at last the U. S. have been given the optimum protection stress. Now each and every person is making the comparable mistake the British made 2 hundred years in the past. humorous how historic previous repeats itself. we could be carful.

They will certainly be a major force. Why?

1. They have a huge demand for new energy sources. They aren't just replacing old sources, but their economy is expanding so fast that they need new sources.

2. They also realize that the cost of petroleum is going to rise over the next few decades.

3. Their coal powered electric plants have become a serious source of air pollution.

4. Their population is industrious and is becoming better educated all of the time.

The one thing that could set them back is their stagnated political system.

The intake at my local university for Chinese students (from mainland China) on an Environmental Sciences Masters course made up 50% of the total student intake for that course.

I live in the UK.

Whatever you think about the Chinese, they're making massive environmental advances that will (eventually) leave most of the world behind.

They seem to be setting a great example. But they are already used to being energy conservative. The big Q is whether the spoiled west can tone down our energy gluttony.

China's reliance on coal-fired power plants is huge, and their mining safety record is abysmal. I think our best hope for China leading us down a low carbon path is for the Chinese people to rise up against the government and force them to shut down the many very unsafe coal mines.

One of the reasons that the coal reserves of the US are largely overestimated is that they are based on coal that is in place, but is not accessible to more modern, safer methods of mining coal. We leave more pillars, and don't mine right to the coal horizon because we demand lower sulfur coal. Hopefully the Chinese people will demand the same sorts of protections and China will be forced to switch to wind and other less dangerous methods of power generation.

The Chinese are looking for more energy from all available sources. Wind, coal, nuclear, Sudanese oil, the lot.

The only way they can force the West to get greener, is to push up the price and speed up the depletion of fossil fuels, as they are doing by their own consumption.

Despite the hype in China coal is still king & will be for quite a while......

If by lead you mean get there first, possibly so.

Wind Energy: "In 2010 China installed about 16,000 megawatts, versus 5,000 in the United States; in 2009 it installed 13,000 megawatts versus 10,000 in the United States, according to American Superconductor."

http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/11/chinas-g...

(Of course their energy market may grow bigger than ours, so absolute capacity may rank differently than % mix):

"China is also adding coal-fired power plants and nuclear plants very rapidly to meet a sharply increasing demand for electricity."

If by "lead" you mean force us to do it, I doubt it, other than by consuming all the oil and forcing our hand, as another poster said.

no it will not because china only makes things but the united state have stronger military