This brief aims at presenting a snapshot of China’s energy international development cooperation (IDC) and sharing lessons from two trilateral cooperation projects in renewable energy involving China, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia and UNDP. It provides key statistics showcasing the overall scale and trend, as well as the composition of China’s energy IDC. Building on insights from the trilateral cooperation projects, this note formulates a series of recommendations to China IDC stakeholders and other relevant actors. These recommendations aim to support China’s future IDC engagements in the renewable energy sector, enhancing its development impact and contribution to the global energy transition and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).