China-MENA Energy Cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative: Megaprojects, Economic Planning, and a Pragmatic Approach to the ‘Green’ Transition

Abstract Cooperation between China and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) in the energy field reached a new impetus with the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Specific cooperation plans and strategies have been implemented both at the regional and bilateral levels to strengthen the cooperation in this area between the two blocks. Despite this progress, crucial questions remain unanswered regarding the approaches, characteristics and rationale behind the green transition in the MENA context. This article focuses on the cooperation between five North African countries—Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt—and China under the BRI. It highlights how the initiative mobilizes funding and expertise urgently needed for developing and deploying clean technologies in North Africa. China’s ‘pragmatic’ approach to energy could speed up the transition in the region, but only if appropriate manufacturing capacities and a solid industrial base are developed in parallel with the deployment of renewables. We argue that an advancement in the cooperation between China and MENA could facilitate the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 7: ‘Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all’.