The rapid growth in China’s energy need and the extraordinary coal dependency has had fatal consequences. The Chinese citizens are paying the price and consequences of pollution, and the carbon dioxide emissions of the nation are contributing significantly to the climate burden imposed by developing industrial countries. GOC expressed a desire to confront the pollution problem at the latest COP21, which left people to wonder about the future consequences for the Chinese society. This thesis aims at answering “Why is the bilateral Sino-Danish cooperation in renewable energy affected by national interests?” Denmark is a pioneer country in renewable energy, and the bilateral Sino-Danish relation is considered important in the development of a more sustainable energy mix in China. China’s 13th FYP and the political agenda concerning energy underline how GOC is looking towards more sustainable energy consumption. To approach the national interests of both countries, the analysis is separated into four main topics. The thesis shows how the cooperation is strongly affected by national interests and the complexity of the cultural, political, economic and security interests of both Denmark and China in the cooperation of renewable energy. Both China and Denmark benefit from the agreement in different ways and with different objectives. Renewable energy can therefore be argued to affect the cooperation, and the answer to the problem statement can be found in the motivations of the bilateral Sino-Danish relation. Thus, the national interest of both Denmark and China is to safeguard the development and survival of the nation states through their foreign policy and agreements of cooperation. The discussion includes views by experts on the energy developing China. Moreover, the Danish aspect of interest to safeguard a small state's interest in an international society is discussed. The conclusion offers an answer to the problem statement and further narrows down the importance of renewable energy in the bilateral Sino-Danish relation.