The term “petrostates” is widely recognized, referring to oil-rich nations like Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the UAE, Kuwait, and Iran—countries whose economies and politics are closely tied to oil markets and thus vulnerable to price volatility and the global shift away from fossil fuels. Now, with the global transition toward electrification gaining momentum, a new term has emerged: “electro-states.”
Coined by scientists and analysts, electro-states are countries that are leading the way in shifting from fossil fuel-dependent technologies to electrically powered alternatives. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), electrification is among the most critical strategies for reducing carbon emissions from the energy sector.
At the forefront of this transition is China, which now leads the global electrification race—surpassing the United States and European Union. A recent study shows that China’s electrification rate has reached 30%, significantly ahead of the ~22% plateau seen in both the U.S. and EU. The electrification rate measures the share of electricity in total final energy consumption compared to fossil fuels.
While the U.S. still holds a lead in the electrification of buildings, China has matched or surpassed both the U.S. and Europe in industrial electrification and has taken the global lead in transport electrification. In 2024, electric vehicles (EVs) made up nearly 48% of all passenger car sales in China—a remarkable leap from just 6.3% in 2020. In contrast, EVs accounted for less than 23% of new car sales in Europe over the same period.
China’s vast and rapidly growing high-speed rail network has also accelerated its transport electrification. With 45,000 kilometers of high-speed rail—five times the EU’s network—China plans to expand this to 60,000 kilometers by 2030.
President Xi Jinping is credited with steering China’s impressive electrification journey. When he assumed leadership of the Communist Party in 2012, China had become the world’s second-largest economy and a major geopolitical power, but it remained heavily reliant on energy imports. Skyrocketing coal and oil imports left the country vulnerable to global supply disruptions.
Today, China is not only advancing rapidly toward energy independence, but it also dominates the global supply chain of critical minerals, which are essential for future technologies—further solidifying its status as the world’s first true electrostate.
