This is Chinese propaganda being pushed through a chinese owned website. China is hurting pretty bad because they make the solar panels and especially the wind turbines and Trump canceled the massive export of US money to buy them.

Or you could use it as a proxy of economic capacity, which is what it looks like is happening here.

Couple that with the slope of the line and the question about overtaking today or tomorrow or yesterday is ridiculous. Which line? You choose. Find one that refutes it.

> Measuring this based on solar capacity is ridiculous

The basic gist of the article... the US is not reacting to China's ascendance with the same vigor that they did when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik. In particular that the US is actively investing less in research and rejecting expertise in many domains ("we are now trapped in a reverse Sputnik moment"). The solar capacity argument is just being used as an example. He is criticizing the disinvestment in the technology - and outright hostility towards it (and science in general). In his article he also references previous articles - in particular that China's purchasing power already exceeds that of the US (essentially due to the cost of living being lower, the same GDP goes further) - so basically, China is already doing better than the US (according to him).

You can, of course, argue with his logic, opinions or even his data, but criticizing it for using solar capacity as an example doesn't seem to be a valid criticism to me. It is just used as illustrative of the problem he is discussing.

It's total electrical generation. Not solar. It's also the first line of the summary, and a big 'ol graph front and centre as the very first thing in the article at the sole link.

The point that matters is (a) the rate of change and (b) the decarbonised and lower cost source for the power

China’s energy advantage is huge. All the big tech companies propping up the US stock market need more data centers. Data centers use massive amounts of energy. The US cannot provide that energy. The government won’t let anybody add large scale solar or wind projects. There is a years long wait for the turbines needed in natural gas plants. Nobody even knows how long it will take to build a new nuclear plant in the USA because it hasn’t been done in decades. This means that all those AI co

Their emissions are less than half the average American's too. But that's not because their quality of life is necessarily worse. For many of them it is very good and modern. It's just that they are more likely to live in a modern, decently insulated building, drive an EV, and not need to drive as far, and have access to good public transport.

Krugman used total electrical generation as a proxy for GDP, which is more difficult to assess for China than the U.S.

Yes. The US should stop comparing itself to a country that's four times as large, at least in absolute terms. However, they insist on doing so. Possibly rates and ratios were one of those educational things politicians were not in favour of.

How much is your electric bill? In China it averages about $7, and no, that's not a below-cost number.

...social contagion.

When MAGA tells you a shrinking economy is suddenly a good thing.

Apparently it's not a competition only when you're losing.

I think the reason a lot of us worry is that China is a very anti democratic force in the world with clearly stated expansionist goals in terms of territory (Taiwan and a huge chunk of the South Pacific that includes other country's territorial waters). I don't think we'd be having anything close to the same concerns if this was about the EU and not China.

In a world without nations, and without hostile governments, your comment would make sense.

In the real world where we live, it's pathetic cuckery.

In this case the comparison is important, because climate change is real. If you can have the same or better quality of life and emit a lot less CO2, even net zero, you should. And you definitely can, without it costing you much either.

Countries have competed against each other since the earliest records.

If we're extremely fortunate, perhaps we can keep this competition on economic grounds.

I'm not a fan of Darth Cheeto, but it's is a stupid take to blame him for something that is the result of 50 years of bipartisan policies. IF I was putting the headline "China has overtaken America" at the feet of any specific individual, it would be a toss up between Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton. The "so much winning" in that context was the idea that we would convert the Chinese into western style democracy by growing their economy.

Purchase power parity? Isn't that the same bs stat Putin keeps bringing up to brag how Russian economy is doing better than ever?

Could not agree more. All these dumb comments about four times as many people, ignoring the rate of change and the low cost and low carbon power sources being deployed.

The rest of the world can only look on in dismay as the superpower competition now boils down to the smart amoral dictatorship vs the batshit dumbass proto-dictatorship determined to saw off its own cock with a rusty knife.

The claim is that "China has overtaken the US" not that China is rapidly catching up and might surpass us some day. You're not characterizing what's being talked about here correctly. The people you're pointing at are just disagreeing with this claim and the use of electricity generation as proof of it.

Made in China used to be an insult. Now it's just a fact of life. The real problem is that 'Made in China' is now the expected level of quality for everything. Things used to last decades, now it's all throw away short lived land fill.

When you have seen the meteor coming for decades, why bother with worrying.

In 1960 "made in Japan" was an insult. In 1970 it was a compliment.

> Almost? In the GOP Science book, Fox Jesus sometimes forgets to turn out the light because he's too busy zapping transgender people; you know, the important stuff.

> Can we somehow convince MAGAs that crude oil causes autism? Is it possible to bribe a brainworm?

Hookers and blow/heroine?

To quote myself from another comment above: I'm not a fan of Darth Cheeto, but it's a stupid take to blame him for something that is the result of 50 years of bipartisan policies. IF I was putting the headline "China has overtaken America" at the feet of any specific individual, it would be a toss up between Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton. The "so much winning" in that context was the idea that we would convert the Chinese into western style democracy by growing their economy.

Can I adjust that for you?

> "Trump Administration Hands U.S. Supremacy to China on a Glass Plaque"

> The US is now carbon negative. It reached a max of 6 billion metric tons of CO2 in the 2000s. In 2025, we are putting out about 5 billion metric ton

That's not carbon negative. It's not even carbon neutral.

What you should be saying is that the US has passed peak carbon, but even that assumes that Trump's anti-renewables drive doesn't increase carbon output, which seems unlikely.

Meanwhile China is reducing its unit energy cost by installing lots of renewable generation.

> The US is now carbon negative. It reached a max of 6 billion metric tons of CO2 in the 2000s. In 2025, we are putting out about 5 billion metric tons.

AHahAHAHHAHaHAHAHAHAHAHAH

Thanks for proving you know how nothing works, as if we didn't already know that.

"Carbon negative" would mean our country was removing more carbon from the atmosphere then it was adding. I think you mean something to the effect of "our total emissions are in decline".

Damn, the truth hurts. Can we not report it please?

Came here to say exactly this. I don't care if we're winning or losing some sort of competition with other countries. Turning our backs on progress in renewable energy, health care, education, etc. just out of ideological spite is bad all on its own. It doesn't matter whether or not it puts us behind in some global dick-measuring contest as well.

You could just as easily have changed out the word fascism for communism and nothing would be different about your post.