Perhaps, but consumers can’t even combat things like price gouging in their own countries, the idea that they are the ones tying the hands of the Chinese manufacturing sector doesn’t seem that likely. Even supposing it was within our power to consume less and effect China’s policy, that would essentially be the same consequence for China as if they tapped the brakes on those same economic sectors. If the goal being argued here is that everyone needs to do their part and sacrifice, why would everyone else need to do China’s part for them? It’s seems less direct than China taking responsibility for their own economic outputs, that would naturally result in consumers having to consume less anyway.

The Chinese government is not obligated to continue pushing an unsustainable economic campaign. They’ve built their economy on a house of cards with the idea that they’ll be able to use it to leapfrog over the rest of the world and establish their economic and geopolitical empire in the next hundred years. But none of that is actually critically necessary, it’s just ambition from power hungry elites. They could easily focus on creating something sustainable instead of pursuing growth anywhere and everywhere.

The cost of clean energies has already become competitive with fossil fuels at this point, and much of that affordable tech comes from China so it should be cheap for them as much as anyone.