David Fishman is a Principal at The Lantau Group, an Asia-Pacific energy consultancy based in Shanghai. He has spent his entire career advising investors, corporations, and governments on China’s power sector: from coal and nuclear to solar, wind, and green power procurement. In this episode, David breaks down China’s current energy mix and the forces driving its renewable energy boom, explains why China is simultaneously the world’s largest clean energy builder and still expanding coal, and discusses how AI data center demand is reshaping grid planning. He shares his recent co-authored essay with Kaiser Kuo and gives his take on the geopolitical significance of the Medog Hydropower Plant. David also reflects on how China is occasionally misrepresented in Western media, and shares what’s caught his eye lately on the ground in China.