As per trumps speech on Davos, is china faking the production and use of windmills?
Executive summary
Donald Trump claimed at Davos that “China makes almost all of the windmills” yet “I haven’t been able to find any wind farms in China,” implying China builds turbines for export while not using them at home; multiple fact‑checks and international reporting show that assertion is false — China is the world leader in installed wind capacity and hosts massive wind farms including the Gansu complex visible from space [1] [2] [3]. While Trump’s rhetoric framed wind power as a “scam” and exporters as profiteers, the available reporting documents broad domestic deployment of wind energy in China and robust export activity, not a hoax [4] [5].
1. The claim and its rhetorical context
In a lengthy Davos address the president attacked renewable energy, saying China “makes almost all the windmills” yet he could not find a single wind farm there, a line delivered to underscore his broader critique that countries buying wind technology are “stupid” and that wind projects are losers [4] [6]. Multiple outlets flagged that comment as part of a wider pattern in the speech of provocative, sometimes easily contestable claims designed to score political points at the World Economic Forum [7] [8].
2. What independent reporting actually shows about Chinese wind deployment
International fact‑checking and energy data contradict the core of Trump’s statement: China’s installed wind capacity is the largest in the world — 2024 figures cited by TIME and others put Chinese wind installations at hundreds of gigawatts and accounting for roughly half of global installed wind capacity, with reports noting China’s 2024 installations made up about 70% of the global total and cumulative capacity exceeding 520 GW [1] [9] [10]. Reuters recorded Chinese officials defending the country’s wind record and citing a 15‑year global leadership in installed capacity, while the BBC and other outlets pointed to huge projects such as the Gansu wind farm [2] [3].
3. Large wind farms and visible infrastructure rebut the “no wind farms” line
Specific, named projects and satellite imagery undercut the suggestion that China lacks operational wind farms: reporting highlights the Gansu wind complex as one of the world’s largest and visible from space, and outlets including the BBC and DW have used such examples to show China’s substantial on‑the‑ground wind infrastructure [3] [5] [10]. Fact‑checkers characterized the president’s “no wind farms in China” remark as an “up‑is‑down reversal of reality” and promptly labeled it false [11] [7].
4. Exports and domestic use are not mutually exclusive — what the evidence says
Several outlets note that China both manufactures a large share of global turbine components and simultaneously installs and operates vast wind capacity domestically; Chinese companies export turbines and photovoltaic products while domestic deployment remains extensive, and Beijing framed exports as part of a green‑technology strategy that also reduces global emissions, according to Reuters’ coverage of China’s Davos response [2] [12]. Data from global wind industry reports cited by TIME and others show China’s dominant share in both production and domestic installations rather than a binary choice to manufacture only for export [1] [9].
5. Alternative interpretations and implicit agendas
Trump’s remark can be read as political theater aimed at discrediting renewable energy and foreign competitors while promoting domestic fossil‑fuel interests; reporting notes the comments fit a broader pattern of anti‑green rhetoric used to rally a particular constituency and to question economic judgments of allies [6] [8]. While the president emphasized exports and profit motives, available reporting does not support the more conspiratorial framing that China is “faking” wind production or usage — the evidence assembled by international media and fact‑checkers points to real, large‑scale Chinese wind deployment [1] [5] [11].
6. Bottom line
The claim that China builds turbines but does not use them is contradicted by contemporary energy data and extensive journalism: China leads the world in installed wind capacity, operates massive wind farms including Gansu, and both produces for export and deploys turbines domestically — therefore the factual core of Trump’s Davos assertion is false according to multiple fact‑checks and reporting [1] [3] [2]. Reporting does not support assertions of a nationwide “fake” program; if there are specific, verifiable counterclaims alleging staged or fraudulent installations, they are not made in the sources reviewed here and would require evidence beyond the current coverage (p1_s1–[4]5).