The Power Divide: China, U.S. and the Future of the Grid

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Every second, half of the electricity running through the world’s grids originates from two countries: China and the U.S. China’s State Grid Corporation now transmits more electrons each day than all of Europe combined.

Scale, however, hides a deeper asymmetry. The U.S. still consumes roughly twice as much electricity per person as China. China’s grid powers production, steel, solar panels, batteries, and machinery exported to the world. America’s grid powers consumption, homes, data centers, transport, and comfort.

Energy-use structures underline that contrast. In 2023, industry absorbed nearly 60 percent of China’s final energy consumption, while in the U.S., commercial and residential accounted for more than 70 percent.

Electricity is no longer infrastructure. It is digital intelligence, strategy, and sovereignty combined. The next superpower may not be a country at all, but whoever masters the current that powers both machines and minds.

Source: Wikipedia