In recent years, both Georgian Dream and Chinese officials have placed strong emphasis on cooperation in the field of new and renewable energy. On January 21, the Ambassador of China to Georgia, Zhou Qian, stated that Georgia–China cooperation “now involves more sectors and has reached a more advanced level.” As a prime example of this evolving collaboration, the ambassador highlighted the participation of a Chinese company in the Gori Wind Electropower project.
The Gori Wind Electropower project, officially known as the Ruisi Wind Farm Project, envisages the construction, development, and operation of a wind power facility with an installed capacity of 206 MW in the Gori and Kareli municipalities of Georgia. The project has been financed with an amount of 119 million USD by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
In 2024, the Chinese company Goldwind Science & Technology Co. Ltd won a state tender announced for the provision of installation and 15-year operation of 33 wind turbines. In January 2026, Goldwind completed the installation of the first turbine. According to the company, once installation is fully concluded, the wind farm will generate approximately 600 GWh of electricity annually.
The Chinese Ambassador assessed Goldwind’s success in the tender as one of the “significant achievements” of Chinese companies in Georgia. From Georgia’s perspective, however, this development underscores the growing involvement of China’s major energy companies in the country’s emerging energy sector.
Goldwind Science & Technology is a Chinese transnational company that provides products and services related to clean energy infrastructure. A closer examination of the company reveals its close ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). As of September 30, 2025, part of the company’s shares were owned by state-owned entities, including Xinjiang Wind Power Co. (11.78%) and China Three Gorges Renewables Co., Ltd. (9.16%). The latter is a subsidiary of China Three Gorges Corporation, which, in January 2020, was designated as a Chinese military company by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control.
Goldwind is also associated with another sanctioned Chinese entity, the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC). In 2020, Goldwind signed a contract with XPCC to supply power to one of the organization’s settlements. XPCC is a state-owned economic and paramilitary organization that exercises control over the Xinjiang region and has been sanctioned by both the United States and the European Union due to its involvement in serious and systematic human rights abuses against Uyghur Muslim minorities in China.
The company’s management structure is likewise closely linked to the CCP. Goldwind’s founder and executive director, Wu Gang, is a member of the CCP and has been awarded a commemorative medal by the CCP Central Committee, the State Council, and the Central Military Commission. Publicly available information also indicates that Wu Gang has advocated for the CCP’s repressive policies toward Uyghurs, having participated in a Chinese government campaign promoting ideological education among ethnic minorities in Xinjiang.
Within China, Goldwind’s operations have been associated with environmentally unfriendly and non-compliant practices, including illegal land occupation, excessive pollutant discharges, and noise pollution. For these violations, the company and its subsidiaries have been subjected to administrative penalties over the years, with cumulative fines amounting to 52.0991 million yuan.
On February 3, the European Union launched a formal investigation into Goldwind’s activities under the EU’s Foreign Subsidies Regulation, amid concerns that the company may have received subsidies from the Chinese government. In response, China’s Ministry of Commerce condemned the EU probe, characterizing it as “targeted” and “discriminatory.”
Concerns have also emerged regarding the safety of the company’s products. In November 2025, hazardous material, asbestos, was found in lift brake pads used across Goldwind’s wind farms in Australia. Following this discovery, access to Goldwind’s wind turbines was restricted.
Taken together, Goldwind Science & Technology’s close ties to the Chinese Communist Party and its questionable connections with sanctioned Chinese entities highlight Georgian Dream’s permissive approach toward cooperation with Chinese companies that carry controversial international reputations. Civic IDEA has repeatedly warned state institutions about the negative consequences of inadequate due-diligence practices when engaging with PRC-linked companies. The case of the Gori Wind Electropower project thus illustrates a new dimension of infrastructure development in Georgia that may be increasingly vulnerable to expanding Chinese strategic interests.
